US Seizes Oil Tanker off Venezuelan Coast
December 16, 2025
Finian Knepper
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December 16, 2025
Finian Knepper
On Wednesday, December 12, United States forces seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela in an operation that immediately drew international attention and sharp condemnation. The vessel, christened The Skipper, was boarded by US forces using fast-rope insertion from helicopters launched from the U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford, marking a dramatic escalation in Washington’s enforcement of sanctions in the Caribbean. Video footage of the operation, released later, showed armed personnel descending onto the tanker’s deck in a maneuver more often associated with counterterrorism raids than commercial shipping enforcement.
The Skipper was transporting Venezuelan crude oil but was flying the flag of Guyana, another South American nation. Guyana’s government quickly stated that the vessel was falsely claiming its registry, a violation of international maritime law that allows states to deny a ship the protections normally afforded under a recognized flag. This detail became a central pillar of the US justification for the seizure, alongside broader allegations that the tanker was engaged in sanctions evasion.
Shipping data provides a clearer picture of the tanker’s movements in the days leading up to its seizure. The Skipper departed Venezuela’s main oil port of José between December 4th and 5th after loading approximately 1.8 million barrels of Merey, a heavy Venezuelan crude oil. Shortly after leaving port, the tanker offloaded roughly 200,000 barrels to the Panama-flagged Neptune-6. Official documentation listed the ship’s destination as the Cuban port of Matanzas, according to data provided by the vessel’s operator, the state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA).
However, the ship’s behavior soon diverged from its declared course. Two days after departure, the Skipper transferred an estimated 50,000 barrels to yet another vessel. That ship proceeded north toward Cuba, while The Skipper altered course and headed east toward Asia, most likely China. Analysts say this pattern strongly suggests the tanker was participating in what maritime experts refer to as a “shell game,” a common tactic in which cargo ships misreport destinations, conduct ship-to-ship transfers at sea, and fragment cargo loads to obscure the true origin and destination of oil shipments, usually to avoid sanctions and tariffs.
Venezuela’s government denounced the action as “blatant theft” and “international piracy.”
When asked about the incident, former President Donald Trump stated:
When asked what would happen to the oil aboard the vessel, Trump replied, “We keep it, I guess.”
US officials justified the operation within the broader context of the War on Terror, drawing parallels to past US strikes against drug cartels and transnational criminal networks. The administration argued that these sanctioned oil shipments help finance drug cartels, terrorism, as well as the Venezuelan regime. Legal Scholars have questioned the legal reach of such justifications when applied to commercial shipping in international waters.
Today, Venezuela remains a net exporter of oil, shipping roughly 300,000 barrels per month. However, growing competition from Iran and Russia has forced Caracas to offer steep discounts to its primary trading partner, China. The seizure of The Skipper, combined with mounting instability in Caribbean shipping lanes, has placed investors, energy companies, and regional authorities on high alert. Whether this incident proves to be an isolated enforcement action or a sign of a broader confrontation remains an open, and urgent, question.
Read more here:
Jonathan Saul, Marianna Parraga and Matt Spetalnick, Reuters
Tyler Pager, Eric Schmitt and Nicholas Nehamas, The New York Times