₦airaland Forum

jiggyman:
Its not nigerian owned! Its registered in nigeria for tax evasion purposes.

Its used to ferry illegal oil across north America, south America, Asia and Russia.

Its been to Nigeria only once at bonny port.

jiggyman:
Its not nigerian owned! Its registered in nigeria for tax evasion purposes.

Its used to ferry illegal oil across north America, south America, Asia and Russia.

Its been to Nigeria only once at bonny port.

Dogalmighty17:
I disagree with you here. Flag hopping is very common in the maritime industry worldwide. Nigeria is not an exception. There's very little most governments can do about it.

Salewa97:
Toh

We will await the details of the operations.

Meanwhile, the tanker owner should be able to explain the allegations against them.

Seizures are not done without thorough investigations

omoredia:
Good one. The nigeria govt is stealing from Nigerians

omoredia:
Thats what u get from a criminal- criminal apc Islamist govt

Wickedtruths:
Na why them dey use una do point and kill for India, Thailand and all across Asia.

Dogalmighty17:
I disagree with you here. Flag hopping is very common in the maritime industry worldwide. Nigeria is not an exception. There's very little most governments can do about it.

Heffalump:
If it's a stolen crude oil vessel, blame it on the APC led federal government. They have been stealing crude oil right from Buhari days.

malali:
Source: https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/markets/us-seizes-nigerian-owned-supertanker-for-suspected-oil-theft/4wzbbhe

Flangelo12:
Rubbish report.

You cannot cite how many nautical miles from any territory it was.

Was it laden with any product?

If so, what did it carry?

Just because US accuses someone doesn't mean they are guilty.

bolseas:
I heard it is owned by a Russian Oligarch and it's heading to Iran from Venezuela. How Nigeria entered the discussion is a surprise.

malali:

Let the Nigerian government officially deny it.
Then the USA government, will mention all the names of those who own it.
When they bought it
How they bought it.
Which accounts have been receiving payments for the crude sales.
You think the USA has not done its homework before calling it Nigerian Ship.

malali:
What happened with the Skipper is not just a maritime embarrassment, it is a national disgrace that exposes a chronic Nigerian problem: the government is brilliant at fighting loud insecurity headlines while utterly blind to the shadow-economy criminals who quietly bleed the country dry and tarnish its name abroad.

A VLCC linked to a Nigerian CAC-registered entity being seized by the U.S. Coast Guard under suspicion of crude theft, false-flag operations, and transnational criminal activity should ring every alarm bell in Abuja. Instead, we get the usual silence, as though these things simply “happen” without systemic rot at home enabling them.

Nigeria’s greatest security failure is not only banditry or terrorism; it is the unchecked underworld economy that has turned fraud, smuggling, illegal oil lifting, and opaque wealth into a fashion culture. People parade unexplained riches, shouting “Money na water!” while everyone with sense knows these lifestyles are lubricated by criminal proceeds washed through dodgy front companies and weakly regulated sectors.

The Tinubu administration cannot keep ignoring this parallel economy. Every time a foreign government intercepts a vessel, exposes a syndicate, or uncovers a laundering network tied back to Nigeria, it chips away at the country’s credibility, investment appeal, and diplomatic leverage. A serious government would treat this as a national-security priority, not an afterthought.

If Nigeria wants respect on the global stage, it must stop exporting scandals. And that means cracking down, seriously, aggressively, and consistently, on the shadow-wealth ecosystem, not just the headline-making insecurity on home soil.

Tanker was sanctioned by Treasury 3 years ago
The Skipper was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2022 for its alleged role in an oil smuggling network that helped fund the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group backed by Iran.

The ship — known as Adisa in 2022 — is among the vessels controlled by sanctioned Russian oil magnate Viktor Artemov, the Treasury said in a statement. At the time, the Treasury said Artemov transported Iranian oil using an expansive network of ships that were often registered in obscure ways with the intention of skirting U.S. restrictions on Iranian petroleum exports.

The Treasury's 2022 sanctions announcement didn't mention Venezuela. But oil networks involving both Iran and Venezuela have been reported for years, drawing pushback from the United States. The two countries are major petroleum producers with some of the world's largest oil reserves, but trade is restricted by heavy U.S. sanctions.

The tanker is controlled by Nigeria-based management company Thomarose Global Ventures LTD and owned by a firm linked to Artemov, according to publicly available data.

malali:

Let the Nigerian government officially deny it.
Then the USA government, will mention all the names of those who own it.
When they bought it
How they bought it.
Which accounts have been receiving payments for the crude sales.
You think the USA has not done its homework before calling it Nigerian Ship.

What we know about The Skipper, the oil tanker seized by the U.S. near Venezuela

By Jennifer Jacobs, James LaPorta, Richard Escobedo, Eleanor Watson, Nick Kurtz, Nicole Sganga, Joe Walsh
Updated on: December 11, 2025 / 8:17 PM EST / CBS News

The U.S. seized a 20-year-old oil tanker called The Skipper off the coast of Venezuela on Wednesday after months of heightened tensions between the Trump administration and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

The seizure was initially announced by President Trump during an unrelated White House event that day. Here's what we know about the boat and the operation:

Seizure involved special operations forces and 2 helicopters
The operation to seize the tanker began Wednesday morning after the boat had just left port in Venezuela, according to a senior military official and a source familiar with the operation.

The mission was launched from the USS Gerald R. Ford, an aircraft carrier that has been in the area for weeks as part of a broader buildup of U.S. forces in the region, the sources told CBS News.

It involved two helicopters, special operations forces, 10 members of the U.S. Coast Guard and 10 Marines, the sources said. The boarding team was composed of the Coast Guard's Maritime Security and Response Team, an elite maritime interdiction unit based in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Attorney General Pam Bondi posted a 45-second video of the operation on X, showing armed personnel descending onto the vessel's deck from a helicopter. She said the U.S. executed a seizure warrant on the vessel, and that the tanker was "used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran."

While the U.S. government — particularly the Justice Department and Homeland Security Investigations — has seized sanctioned oil tankers before, conducting a fast-rope boarding from helicopters at sea is rare, though it's something the boarding team trains for, U.S. officials said.

The operation was led by the Coast Guard, supported by Navy forces, the officials told CBS News. Any such operation would legally require the Coast Guard to be the lead agency because the authorities used for these seizures fall under Coast Guard jurisdiction.

What's happening to the vessel and its oil after the seizure
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Thursday that the vessel is "currently undergoing a forfeiture process right now."

"The United States currently has a full investigative team on the ground, on the vessel, and individuals on board the vessel are being interviewed and any relevant evidence is being seized," she said.

Leavitt said the vessel will go to a U.S. port.

"The United States does intend to seize the oil," she continued. "However, there is a legal process for the seizure of that oil, and that legal process will be followed."

Tanker was sanctioned by Treasury 3 years ago
The Skipper was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2022 for its alleged role in an oil smuggling network that helped fund the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group backed by Iran.

The ship — known as Adisa in 2022 — is among the vessels controlled by sanctioned Russian oil magnate Viktor Artemov, the Treasury said in a statement. At the time, the Treasury said Artemov transported Iranian oil using an expansive network of ships that were often registered in obscure ways with the intention of skirting U.S. restrictions on Iranian petroleum exports.

The Treasury's 2022 sanctions announcement didn't mention Venezuela. But oil networks involving both Iran and Venezuela have been reported for years, drawing pushback from the United States. The two countries are major petroleum producers with some of the world's largest oil reserves, but trade is restricted by heavy U.S. sanctions.

The tanker is controlled by Nigeria-based management company Thomarose Global Ventures LTD and owned by a firm linked to Artemov, according to publicly available data.

The ship is 20 years old, initially sailing under the name The Toyo in 2005. At 333 meters (about 1,092 feet) in length, it was one of the largest tankers in the world at the time it was built.

The government of Guyana — which borders Venezuela — said in a statement Wednesday the ship was falsely flying the Guyanese flag, despite not being registered in the South American country

Bondi said the boat was sanctioned "due to its involvement in an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations."

"This seizure, completed off the coast of Venezuela, was conducted safely and securely — and our investigation alongside the Department of Homeland Security to prevent the transport of sanctioned oil continues," the attorney general said.

Venezuela's government said in a statement that it "strongly denounces and repudiates what constitutes a shameless robbery and an act of international piracy."

givedemwotowoto:
I have told you people multiple times that whenever you hear that there was shortfall in crude oil production targets, it means that crude oil was stolen and will be sold in the black market. That’s where they get the money to criminally incentivize high profile party members like governors to defect to their political party ahead of 2027.

CIA of Biafra have spoken, the Jibrin of Sudan crooners. They just think something awful believe it and start spreading it as breaking news

Allegedly

malali:
What happened with the Skipper is not just a maritime embarrassment, it is a national disgrace that exposes a chronic Nigerian problem: the government is brilliant at fighting loud insecurity headlines while utterly blind to the shadow-economy criminals who quietly bleed the country dry and tarnish its name abroad.

A VLCC linked to a Nigerian CAC-registered entity being seized by the U.S. Coast Guard under suspicion of crude theft, false-flag operations, and transnational criminal activity should ring every alarm bell in Abuja. Instead, we get the usual silence, as though these things simply “happen” without systemic rot at home enabling them.

Nigeria’s greatest security failure is not only banditry or terrorism; it is the unchecked underworld economy that has turned fraud, smuggling, illegal oil lifting, and opaque wealth into a fashion culture. People parade unexplained riches, shouting “Money na water!” while everyone with sense knows these lifestyles are lubricated by criminal proceeds washed through dodgy front companies and weakly regulated sectors.

The Tinubu administration cannot keep ignoring this parallel economy. Every time a foreign government intercepts a vessel, exposes a syndicate, or uncovers a laundering network tied back to Nigeria, it chips away at the country’s credibility, investment appeal, and diplomatic leverage. A serious government would treat this as a national-security priority, not an afterthought.

If Nigeria wants respect on the global stage, it must stop exporting scandals. And that means cracking down, seriously, aggressively, and consistently, on the shadow-wealth ecosystem, not just the headline-making insecurity on home soil.

malali:
Source: https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/markets/us-seizes-nigerian-owned-supertanker-for-suspected-oil-theft/4wzbbhe

Burruchaga71:
I believe the vessel is being used to transport HARD DRUG .Our petroleum Minister Tinubu has a case to answer.
We are watching....

Dalohad:
LOL... Trump must have Tinubu's Chicago drug records and shouted 'Oh my gawd!' at the level of drug trafficking brigandage he saw in there..

What he saw in that file may not be unconnected his recent decision to put Nigeria under serious scrutiny.

Trump knows Tinubu more than Tinubu knows himself..I bet you..

Like I said, Trump is coming. Brace up Gbadorians.. 2027 Otilo....

jmoore:
The owner of the ship will forfeit the ship, same way Tinubu forfeited hundreds of thousands of dollars to USA authorities cos the proceeds were from crime.