The United States Coast Guard, backed by the U.S. Navy, has seized a Nigerian-owned supertanker, Skipper, over allegations ranging from crude oil theft to piracy and other transnational crimes.
The vessel — a 20-year-old Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) with IMO number 9304667 — is reportedly owned and managed by Nigeria-based Thomarose Global Ventures Ltd., though its registered owner is listed as Triton Navigation Corp. in the Marshall Islands. Officials said the tanker was flying Guyanese colours illegally when it was intercepted.
Guyana’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) immediately disowned the vessel, confirming that Skipper is not listed in its national ship registry and had no authorisation to use its flag.
U.S. security sources said the arrest was carried out under American law enforcement authority, with President Donald Trump announcing the operation. Beyond suspected crude theft, investigators are probing whether the ship was carrying a large consignment of hard drugs and operating within a network allegedly backed by Iranian and other Islamist-linked money-laundering groups.
Okay News gathered that a check at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) showed that Thomarose Global Ventures Ltd. is currently inactive, with its registered address listed as 111 Jakpa Road, Effurun, Warri, Delta State, and no phone numbers associated with the company.
Engr. Akin Olaniyan, President of the Centre for Marine Surveyors of Nigeria, said the development raises serious questions about Nigeria’s maritime regulatory oversight.
“If the vessel emanated from Nigeria, it suggests our Port State Control is practically non-existent,”
he said.
Any vessel leaving Nigerian waters may now face stricter scrutiny abroad. This is an enforcement issue, not a national issue.
Mazi Colman Obasi, President of the Oil and Gas Service Providers Association of Nigeria (OGSPAN), expressed surprise:
I have never heard that Nigeria has a supertanker, and that the company owning it is inactive at the CAC. Government agencies can certainly do more.
Otunba Sola Adewumi, President of the Ship Owners Association of Nigeria (SOAN), said he was still gathering facts and could not comment substantively. Former NIMASA Director-General, Mr. Temisan Omatseye, also said he had only just learnt of the incident.
NIMASA, through its spokesman Edward Osagie, said it had no official information yet and requested a formal enquiry for proper response.
A Port Harcourt-based energy analyst criticised the continued prevalence of oil theft:
With existing agencies and private contractors, one expected oil theft to reduce. It’s shocking that these practices continue. No nation can progress if its citizens keep stealing the crude that generates its foreign exchange.
Earlier this year, the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) revealed that the country lost 13.5 million barrels of crude oil, valued at $3.3 billion, to theft and pipeline sabotage between 2023 and 2024.
NEITI Executive Secretary, Dr. Ogbonnaya Orji, speaking at the 2025 NAEC Conference, said the lost revenue could have funded the nation’s health budget for a year or provided energy access to millions of homes.
He also noted that:
Nigeria earned $23.04bn in 2021 and $23.05bn in 2022 from the oil and gas sector.
N1.5 trillion remains owed to the Federation by companies and government agencies.
NEITI has evolved into a governance reform body, driving transparency in licensing, metering, beneficial ownership disclosure, and energy transition accountability.
