THE United States (US) Coast Guard, in collaboration with the US Navy, has intercepted a Nigerian-owned supertanker, Skipper, over allegations of crude oil theft, 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., headquartered in the Marshall Islands.
Authorities said the tanker was illegally flying the Guyanese flag at the time of its arrest.
The ICIR reports that the concern about the alleged crude oil theft followed the worries that the Nigerian government had paid N17.5 trillion for pipeline protection and energy security operations, outsourced to private security guards in the financial year ended 2024
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and other stakeholders had demanded a forensic audit of the N17.5 trillion allegedly spent and expressed concern over the pipeline protection and energy-security costs, citing persistent leakages, oil theft, low crude production, and systemic opacity in the national oil company.
The crude oil theft occurred despite the fact that the Federal Government has outsourced oil pipeline protection to Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited (TSSNL), a prominent indigenous security firm known for protecting Nigeria’s crucial oil and gas infrastructure, especially in the Niger Delta region.
In a swift rebuttal, Guyana’s Maritime Administration Department, MARAD, confirmed that Skipper seized by the US was not on its national ship registry and was using the country’s flag without authorisation.
According to US security sources, the seizure was carried out under American law enforcement authority, with President Donald Trump announcing the operation.
Beyond suspicions of stolen crude, the vessel is also being investigated for allegedly transporting a large consignment of hard drugs and operating within a network backed by suspected Iranian and other Islamist-linked money-laundering financiers.
A check with the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, Abuja, showed that Thomarose is inactive.
Further checks showed that Thomarose’s corporate address is listed as 111 Jakpa Road, Effurun, Warri, Delta State, with CAC registration number 1007876.
There are no phone numbers linked to the company.
Commenting on the seizure with Vanguard Newspaper, the President of the Centre for Marine Surveyors, Nigeria, Akin Olaniyan, said that if the vessel indeed departed from Nigeria before being intercepted, it would indicate weaknesses in Nigeria’s Port management.
He 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 by Port State Control authorities in other countries. This issue has nothing to do with Nigeria as a country, but with regulatory enforcement.”
The National President of Oil and Gas Service Providers Association of Nigeria, OGSPAN, Colman Obasi, who reacted to the development, said: “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. Anyway, the government and other agencies can do more.”
President of the Ship Owners Association of Nigeria, SOAN, Otunba Sola Adewumi, noted that he could not comment on the seizure of the vessel as he had yet to receive sufficient details about the circumstances surrounding its arrest.
He appealed for more time to ascertain the vessel’s ownership and registration status.
Harrison Edeh is a journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, always determined to drive advocacy for good governance through holding public officials and businesses accountable.