The United States Coast Guard, working with the US Navy, stopped a Nigerian-owned supertanker named Skipper. This happened because there were claims that the ship was involved in crude oil theft, piracy, and other serious crimes that cross borders.
The tanker is a very large crude carrier, or VLCC, that is 20 years old. Its International Maritime Organization number is 9304667. The ship is owned and managed by a Nigerian company called Thomarose Global Ventures Ltd. However, the official owner listed is a firm called Triton Navigation Corp., which is based in the Marshall Islands.At the time it was stopped, the vessel was flying the flag of Guyana illegally. In response, Guyana’s Maritime Administration Department, MARAD, said the Skipper is not on its national list of ships and that using the Guyanese flag without permission is against the rules.
US security officials said the Coast Guard took control of the ship under US law enforcement rules. President Donald Trump announced the operation. Besides the suspicion of stolen oil, the ship is also being checked for sending a big amount of illegal drugs. Also, it seems to be part of a group that may be linked to money laundering by people connected to Iran and other Islamist groups.When checked with the Corporate Affairs Commission in Abuja, it was found that Thomarose is not active.
Further checks found the company’s address is listed as 111 Jakpa Road, Effurun, Warri, Delta State, with a CAC registration number of 1007876. But there are no phone numbers associated with the company. This shows that Nigeria’s Port State Control system may not be working well. Engr. Akin Olaniyan, President of the Centre for Marine Surveyors in Nigeria, said if the ship left Nigeria before being caught, it shows that Nigeria’s Port State Control is not effective. He added that any ship leaving Nigeria’s waters would then face more strict checks by other countries. He said this problem is about enforcement, not about Nigeria as a country.
Mazi Colman Obasi, National President of the Oil and Gas Service Providers Association of Nigeria, said he hadn’t heard of a Nigerian supertanker that wasn’t active in CAC. He said the government and other agencies need to do more. Otunba Sola Adewumi, President of the Ship Owners Association of Nigeria, said he couldn’t comment on the seizure because he hadn’t gotten all the details yet. He asked for more time to find out about the ship’s ownership and registration.
Former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Mr. Temisan Omatseye, said he had just learned about the seizure and couldn’t give a full response. NIMASA said they didn’t have any official information and asked Vanguard to send an official query. They promised to address it properly.An energy analyst from Port Harcourt said that with the presence of government agencies and private contractors, they expected oil theft and other illegal activities to stop or decrease a lot. He was surprised that such things are still happening. He said all agencies need to do more than what they are currently doing. He added that no country can progress if its people continue to steal its oil, which is a key resource for generating foreign exchange for economic growth.