AP file photo
The United States seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela on Wednesday that may have attempted to conceal its location by broadcasting false position data, according to an analysis of satellite imagery and photographs by The New York Times. While US officials did not publicly identify the vessel, one source told The Times that it was nameda Skipper. The ship’s transponder showed it anchored near Guyana and Suriname, but analysis revealed that from late October to at least December 4, it was actually hundreds of miles off the coast of Venezuela.
Data from TankerTrackers indicates that the vessel has regularly transported oil from countries subject to US sanctions, as cited by the NYT. Tracking records show that over the past two years, the ship made multiple voyages to both Iran and Venezuela.“Skipper has transported nearly 13 million barrels of Iranian and Venezuelan oil since joining the global dark fleet of tankers in 2021,” Samir Madani, the co-founder of TankerTrackers, a company that monitors global oil shipping, was quoted as saying by the NYT. According to Madani, the ship delivered Iranian oil to Syria in 2024 while the country was under Bashar al-Assad’s control, aiding his government in sustaining the civil war. Between February and July this year, it also transported nearly two million barrels of crude oil from Iran to China.Although the vessel’s transponder indicated it was anchored in the Atlantic Ocean near Guyana and Suriname, The New York Times found that from late October to at least December 4, the ship was actually hundreds of miles off the coast of Venezuela.A satellite image captured on November 18 showed the tanker docked at Venezuela’s José oil terminal, contradicting its reported location. The vessel’s position was further confirmed by a ground-based photograph of it loading oil, provided by TankerTrackers.In the image, the ship sits low in the water, suggesting it had taken on a substantial cargo, estimated at 1.8 to 1.9 million barrels of oil, according to TankerTrackers.Trump confirmed the tanker’s seizure, stating that the United States will “keep” the oil. “It was seized for a very good reason,” Trump added. In a statement, Venezuela’s government condemned the seizure as a “barefaced robbery and an act of international piracy,” claiming it was intended to deprive the country of its oil wealth.
