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US Seizes Oil Tanker off Venezuelan Coast

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.

The seizure team came from the US Coast Guard’s Maritime Security and Response Team (MSRT), an elite unit trained for high-risk maritime interdictions. According to US officials, the operation was conducted under the authority of a seizure warrant, issued because the tanker was transporting sanctioned Venezuelan oil tied to illicit financial networks, including alleged links to the international drug trade. The Skipper itself is currently under US sanctions due to its connections to Venezuela and Iran, two countries Washington has repeatedly accused of collaborating to circumvent international oil restrictions.

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.

A 45-second video posted by the US Attorney General Pam Bondi showed US forces rappelling from a helicopter onto the boat. Venezuela, Cuba, and Iran all condemned the seizure. Cuba described it as a “grave violation of international laws and norms.”

Cuban called the operation an “act of piracy and maritime terrorism” and a “serious violation of international law” that harms the Cuban people by disrupting vital energy supplies.

Venezuela’s government denounced the action as “blatant theft” and “international piracy.”

When asked about the incident, former President Donald Trump stated:

“We’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela,” he said. “Large tanker, very large, largest one ever, actually, and other things are happening.”

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.

Venezuela has reacted with particular alarm, for obvious reasons. Officials believe the seizure, combined with increased US naval activity and reported strikes on more than 20 vessels in the Caribbean, is a sign of impending US invasion aimed at overthrowing the government and seizing the country’s vast oil reserves.

Trump has, on multiple occasions, alluded to the possibility of military action against Venezuela, though it remains unclear whether such statements reflect genuine intent or “Just trolling.”

Despite the strangeness of the incident, this is in fact not the first time oil has been seized between the United States and Venezuela. On January 1, 1976, under President Carlos Andrés Pérez, Venezuela nationalized its oil industry, creating the state-owned PDVSA. The move resulted in the seizure of foreign oil company assets, including oil fields and tankers, totaling approximately $5 billion USD. US and Foreign companies were paid roughly 1 billion USD in compensation, via a mix of government bonds and cash: this resulted in a loss of nearly 4 billion dollars of US companies.

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.