The large crude oil tanker seized by US forces on Wednesday (local time) off the coast of Venezuela has reportedly displayed a “clear pattern” of spoofing its location to conceal its true whereabouts, CNBC reported, citing a leading energy consulting firm.
Data indicates that the Guyana-flagged tanker, identified as Skipper since 2022, has transported sanctioned oil from both Iran and Venezuela. The oil industries of these countries are under US sanctions, and Skipper itself has been sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) since 2022.
Over the past two years, Kpler data show that Skipper engaged in AIS spoofing on more than 80 days to conceal its true location. AIS, or Automatic Identification System, provides real-time information about a ship's position, including its name, course, speed, classification, call sign, and registration number, according to the US Coast Guard.
While Skipper's actual location was hidden from the AIS network, Kpler data indicates that there were multiple ship-to-ship transfers of cargo during this period.
Skipper had about 2 million barrels of crude aboard
The Skipper departed Venezuelan waters early this month with approximately 2 million barrels of heavy crude, roughly half of which belonged to a Cuban state-run oil importer, according to documents from the state-owned company PDVSA that were provided to the AP on condition of anonymity.
The high risk generates huge opportunities for profits. Black market Venezuelan oil costs about USD 15 less per barrel than its legitimate crude, according to Francisco Monaldi, a Venezuelan oil expert at Rice University in Houston.
Monaldi said he expects the price of illicit Venezuelan crude to drop because fewer buyers will be willing to risk having the cargo seized.
Skipper's last few weeks
The Skipper's final weeks hiding in the Caribbean were reconstructed by Windward, which uses satellite imagery relied on by US officials mapping the movements of the dark fleet, AP reported.
The US sanctioned the Skipper in November 2022, when it was known as the M/T Adisa, for its alleged role in a network of dark vessels smuggling crude on behalf of Iran's Revolutionary Guard and Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group. The network was reportedly run by a Switzerland-based Ukrainian oil trader who was also sanctioned, the US Treasury Department said at the time.
In recent months, the ship has sailed to China with a cargo of Iranian oil, and it has also been linked to illicit cargoes from Russia, according to Windward.
At the time of its seizure, the tanker was digitally manipulating its tracking signals to falsely indicate it was sailing off the coast of Guyana. It has also been falsely flying the Guyana flag, a major violation of maritime rules.
Here's what White House said
The seizure marked a dramatic escalation in US President Donald Trump's campaign to pressure strongman Nicolás Maduro by cutting off access to oil revenues that have long been the lifeblood of Venezuela's economy, as reported by AP.
It could also signal a broader US campaign to clamp down on ships like the Skipper, which experts and US officials say is part of a shadowy fleet of rusting oil tankers that smuggle oil for countries facing stiff sanctions, according to the AP report.
The White House said that the tanker will now be taken to an American port, while the crude oil cargo will be seized only after the completion of due legal procedures.
During a White House press briefing on Thursday (local time), Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that the vessel, named Skipper, is currently undergoing a formal forfeiture process, following which it will be brought to a US port.
"The vessel is currently undergoing a forfeiture process right now. The United States currently has a full investigative team on the ground on the vessel, and individuals on board the vessel are being interviewed, and any relevant evidence is being seized," Leavitt said.
"With respect to the oil, that's a different issue. The vessel will go to a US port, and the United States does intend to seize the oil. However, there is a legal process for the seizure of that oil, and that legal process will be followed," she added.
Venezuela's Maduro calls seizure ‘act of international piracy’
For Maduro, who called the seizure an "act of international piracy," the stakes couldn't be higher. Oil has long been the lifeblood of Venezuela's economy, generating enormous wealth but also creating a deep reliance on natural resources, as reported by the Associated Press.
“At this hour, as I speak to you, the crew of that ship, that vessel, carrying 1.9 million barrels to international markets, is kidnapped, they're missing, nobody knows where they are,” Maduro said during a televised government event Thursday. “They kidnapped the crew, stole the ship, and have ushered in a new era -- the era of criminal naval piracy in the Caribbean.”
(With inputs from agencies)
