U.S. Moves to Permanently Seize Sanctioned Tanker ‘Skipper’ and $150M Oil Cargo

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a civil forfeiture complaint seeking to permanently seize the motor tanker Skipper and its roughly 1.8 million-barrel cargo of Venezuelan crude, marking the latest move in Washington’s expanding crackdown on oil shipments tied to Iran and Venezuela’s shadow fleet networks.

The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., alleges the vessel and cargo are subject to forfeiture for providing material support to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including its Qods Force, which the U.S. has designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.

U.S. authorities seized the Skipper off Venezuela’s coast on December 10, 2025, after determining the vessel was operating without nationality while falsely claiming a Guyanese flag. Following the seizure, the tanker and its cargo were transported to waters off Texas.

Attorney General Pamela Bondi said the case reflects the administration’s continued focus on disrupting oil revenue streams that fund sanctioned regimes.

Years-Long Sanctions Evasion Scheme

According to the complaint, the Skipper was allegedly involved in sanctions evasion activities dating back to at least 2021. Prosecutors say the vessel transported crude from both Iran and Venezuela, using tactics common to shadow fleet operators — including ship-to-ship transfers, AIS manipulation, and flag changes — to obscure its movements.

In 2024 alone, the tanker allegedly delivered roughly three million barrels of Iranian crude to Syria. The complaint also states the vessel loaded oil from Iran at least twice in 2025 prior to its detention.

The ship had previously been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control on November 3, 2022, when it operated under the name Adisa, as part of a broader enforcement action targeting Iranian oil smuggling.

Cuban Destination

Before its seizure, the Skipper had loaded approximately 1.8 million barrels of Venezuelan-origin crude at Venezuela’s José Terminal in November 2025. Shipping documents cited in the complaint indicate roughly 1.1 million barrels were bound for Cubametales, Cuba’s state oil import-export company, which has been under U.S. sanctions since 2019.

Part of Broader Maritime Enforcement Push

The Skipper seizure comes amid a widening U.S. enforcement campaign targeting tankers moving sanctioned oil. The enforcement campaign accelerated sharply after President Trump announced a “complete blockade” of sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela in mid-December. 

Earlier this week, U.S. forces boarded the sanctioned tanker Bertha in the Indian Ocean, marking the tenth Venezuela-linked tanker interdicted since December. Other previously reported seizures include the Veronica, Olina, M Sophia, and Marinera, underscoring the growing operational tempo of U.S. maritime enforcement actions spanning from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean.

Officials say the effort is aimed at dismantling the logistics networks that allow stateless or falsely flagged tankers to move crude outside formal trading systems.

The case is being investigated by the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations, with prosecutors from the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, National Security Division, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia handling the forfeiture action.

As with all civil forfeiture complaints, the filing represents allegations, and the government must prove the case in court.

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