Update (1540ET):
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Thursday that the VLCC Skipper, seized by U.S. forces on Wednesday, is inbound to a “U.S. port and that the U.S. intends to seize the oil. However, she noted that there is a legal process for such a seizure, and that process will be followed.”
⚠️🇺🇸 TRUMP ORDERS SEIZURE OF VENEZUELAN TANKER OIL – US forces stormed Skipper tanker off Venezuela coast yesterday; vessel heads to US port for legal forfeiture of sanctioned crude tied to illicit networks. #Trump #Venezuela https://t.co/QoeB3vWXbn pic.twitter.com/75A6SA3Rve
— REALX•VOX (@Realxvox) December 11, 2025
Bloomberg data shows the Skipper just north of Saint Lucia in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The vessel is listed as “engines underway” and heading northwest.
Leavitt offered no information about Skipper’s port-calling. However, only a few U.S. ports can handle VLCC tankers because they draw upwards of 22 meters of water when fully loaded and require specialised deepwater berths.
Possible port-calling:
Offshore lightering areas in:
Major Caribbean deepwater terminals
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St. Eustatius (Statia Terminal) – Netherlands Antilles Deepwater berths & offshore moorings built for VLCCs.
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St. Croix (U.S. Virgin Islands) – Limetree Bay Terminal One of the deepest oil terminals in the Western Hemisphere.
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Freeport, Bahamas – BORCO Terminal can handle VLCCs via offshore mooring systems.
* * *
Welcome to Monroe Doctrine 2.0 – a revival of gunboat diplomacy – where U.S. forces just carried out an exceptionally rare move: seizing a massive dark-fleet tanker off Venezuela, long known as a key tanker for Iran’s shadow oil trade.
Maritime tracker MarineTraffic shows that the vessel commandeered by a U.S. special operations team, which rappelled onto the tanker’s deck from a Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday (watch here), is the VLCC Skipper, carrying a million barrels of crude.
Here’s more from MarineTraffic:
U.S. forces seize tanker linked to covert Venezuelan crude shipment
U.S. forces have seized an oil #tanker believed to be the VLCC Skipper, after satellite imagery showed she secretly loading 1.1 million barrels of sanctioned Merey crude at Venezuela’s José Terminal. The vessel had been transmitting falsified AIS positions during the operation, a tactic increasingly used by “dark fleet” tankers tied to Venezuelan and Iranian trades.
MarineTraffic data shows the vessel has been sanctioned by OFAC since November 2022 and repeatedly linked to high-risk activity. Her cargo history includes multiple liftings from Venezuela and Iran, while operational risk signals show a two-month AIS gap in Iranian waters. The vessel has also conducted high-risk and dark STS transfers in the Red Sea, Iranian and Syrian zones, alongside multiple AIS spoofing events. Here’s the playback of the vessel’s latest movements.
US forces seize tanker linked to covert Venezuelan crude shipment
US forces have seized an oil #tanker believed to be the VLCC Skipper, after satellite imagery showed she secretly loading 1.1 million barrels of sanctioned Merey crude at Venezuela’s José Terminal. The vessel had… pic.twitter.com/MJji0O20qT
— MarineTraffic (@MarineTraffic) December 10, 2025
Anas Alhajji of Energy Outlook Advisors asked several key questions after the U.S. seized the tanker:
⭕️Who Is the Target? What is the impact on global oil markets? Shipping? Tanker rates?
⭕️U.S. Forces Seize Guyana-Flagged VLCC “Skipper” Carrying Venezuelan Crude Bound for Cuba!
Link: https://t.co/CMcYGcx3d1 pic.twitter.com/uR5dUyWvvu
— Anas Alhajji (@anasalhajji) December 11, 2025
Intelligence firm Kpler noted:
The seizure underscores Washington’s escalating efforts to crack down on dark-fleet activity tied to Iranian and Venezuelan crude trades.
The incident comes amid heightened U.S. military presence in the region, and as Venezuela’s crude exports dropped to 700 kbd in November. The Skipper has been repeatedly linked to sanction evasion tactics, including spoofing and mislabeled Iranian cargoes routed through Asia, raising alarms about ongoing maritime deception.
Satellite imagery from November 14 shows the seized VLCC Skipper loading crude at Venezuela’s José Oil Terminal. Credit: European Union Copernicus Sentinel.
Tanker with Venezuela oil seized by U.S.
U.S. forces have seized an #oil tanker believed to be the VLCC Skipper, following satellite evidence that it covertly loaded 1.1 million barrels of sanctioned Merey crude from Venezuela’s Jose Terminal. Despite transmitting falsified AIS… pic.twitter.com/7tjRUFBM3S
— Kpler (@Kpler) December 10, 2025
In markets, Brent crude round-tripped any fears of market disruptions as this seizure off Venezuela’s shore is isolated.
CBS cited a statement from the Venezuelan government that read, “It strongly denounces and repudiates what constitutes a shameless robbery and an act of international piracy.”
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