United States authorities have intercepted a Nigerian-owned supertanker, Skipper, over alleged crude oil theft, piracy, hard-drug trafficking, and links to transnational crime networks.
The arrest was carried out by the US Coast Guard in collaboration with the US Navy, with President Donald Trump announcing the operation.
The Skipper, a 20-year-old Very Large Crude Carrier with IMO Number 9304667, is reportedly owned and managed by Nigeria-based Thomarose Global Ventures Ltd.
However, official ship registries list Triton Navigation Corp., based in the Marshall Islands, as the registered owner.
At the time of its seizure, the vessel was illegally flying Guyana’s flag. Guyana’s Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) swiftly denied any connection, confirming that Skipper is not listed on its national registry and had been using the flag without approval.
US security sources alleged that beyond suspected stolen crude, the vessel is being investigated for transporting hard drugs and operating under a network linked to suspected Iranian and Islamist money-laundering financiers.
Nigerian Reactions
Checks revealed that Thomarose Global Ventures Ltd., listed as the vessel’s Nigerian owner, is currently inactive on the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) portal.
Its registered office in Warri, Delta State, has no functional contacts.
Industry experts say the incident exposes regulatory lapses. Akin Olaniyan, President of the Centre for Marine Surveyors Nigeria, said: “If the vessel emanated from Nigeria, it suggests our Port State Control is practically non-existent. It also means any vessel leaving Nigerian waters may come under stricter scrutiny in other countries.”
Mazi Colman Obasi, National President of the Oil and Gas Service Providers Association of Nigeria, expressed surprise: “I have never heard that Nigeria has a supertanker and that it is not active in CAC. I don’t even know if stakeholders are aware.”
Other maritime leaders, including SOAN President Otunba Sola Adewumi and former NIMASA DG Temisan Omatseye, said they were still verifying details. NIMASA itself stated it had no official information yet.
Oil Theft and Economic Losses
A Port Harcourt–based energy analyst described the incident as another sign of Nigeria’s weak anti-theft measures. “No country can grow when its citizens continue to steal its crude, the resource that provides vital foreign exchange,” he said.
The seizure comes months after the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) revealed that Nigeria lost 13.5 million barrels of crude oil worth $3.3 billion to theft and sabotage between 2023 and 2024.
Executive Secretary Ogbonnanya Orji said the lost revenue could have funded a full year of the federal health budget or expanded energy access for millions of households.
NEITI’s reports also showed ₦1.5 trillion in outstanding payments owed to the Federation by companies and agencies.
Orji highlighted reforms including sector-wide audits, a Beneficial Ownership Register covering over 4,800 extractive assets, and a national open-data centre for real-time industry information.
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