*20-year-old vessel owned, managed by Nigeria-based Thomarose Global Ventures Ltd., listed as Triton Navigation Corp., with headquarters in the Marshall Islands
*Tanker on speed illegally had Guyanese flag at the time of its arrest, check with Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja, showed Thomarose is registered non-active
*Operating within a network backed by suspected Iranian, other Islamist-linked money-laundering financiers
*“Skipper is not on our national ship registry and was using the country’s flag without authorisation”– Guyana’s Maritime Administration Department
*“If the vessel emanated from Nigeria, it suggests our Port State Control is practically non-existent”-President of the Centre for Marine Surveyors, Nigeria, Engr. Akin Olaniyan
*“Seizure was carried out under American law enforcement authority, with President Donald Trump announcing the operation”-U. S Department of Transportation
*BY CHARLOTTE CREAMER/INTERNATIONAL MARITIME EDITOR, MARSHALL ISLANDS, NAIJA STANDARD NEWSPAPER INC USA
WITH LASER FOCUSED plans to cleanse the Nigerian maritime system and put an end to the nefarious activities of pirates, oil theft and hard drug smugglers operating on the high seas, the United States Coastal Guard and the American Navy set up a tracker to monitor these criminals. Their vigilance paid off when the United States maritime security intercepted a Nigerian-owned supertanker called ‘Skipper’, over allegations of crude oil theft, piracy, and Cocaine transaction.
The vessel, a 20-year-old Very Large Crude Carrier, VLCC, with IMO Number 9304667, is reportedly owned and managed by Nigeria-based Thomarose Global Ventures Ltd., though its registered owner is listed as Triton Navigation Corp., headquartered in the Marshall Islands.
Authorities said the tanker was illegally flying the Guyanese flag at the time of its arrest.
In a swift rebuttal, Guyana’s Maritime Administration Department, MARAD, confirmed that Skipper is not on its national ship registry and was using the country’s flag without authorisation.
According to security sources within the United States Department of Transportation, the seizure was carried out under American law enforcement authority, with President Donald Trump announcing the operation.
Beyond suspicions of stolen crude, the vessel is also being investigated for allegedly transporting a large consignment of hard drugs in the form of Cocaine and operating within a network backed by suspected Iranian and other Islamist-linked money-laundering financiers.
A check with the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, Abuja, showed that Thomarose was registered in Nigeria, presently in a non-active status.
Reacting to the seizure, the President of the Centre for Marine Surveyors, Nigeria, Engr. Akin Olaniyan, said that if the vessel indeed departed from Nigeria before being intercepted, it would indicate weaknesses in Nigeria’s Port State Control regime.
According to him, “If the vessel emanated from Nigeria, it suggests our Port State Control is practically non-existent. It also means any vessel leaving Nigerian waters may come under stricter scrutiny by Port State Control authorities in other countries. This issue has nothing to do with Nigeria as a country, but with regulatory enforcement.”
Similarly, the National President of Oil and Gas Service Providers Association of Nigeria, OGSPAN, Mazi Colman Obasi, said: “I have never heard that Nigeria has a supertanker and that it is not active in CAC. I don’t even know if stakeholders are aware. Anyway, the government and other agencies can do more.”
Speaking also, President of the Ship Owners Association of Nigeria, SOAN, Otunba Sola Adewumi, noted that he could not comment on the seizure of the vessel as he was yet to receive sufficient details about the circumstances surrounding its arrest.
He appealed for more time to ascertain the vessel’s ownership and registration status.
Nigeria lost 13.5m barrels of crude worth $3.3bn to theft, sabotage in one year-NEITI
Earlier this year, it came to light that the Federal Government lost a total of 13.5 million barrels of crude oil worth $3.3 billion to theft and pipeline sabotage between 2023 and 2024. Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Dr. Ogbonnanya Orji, disclosed in Lagos at the 2025 Association of Energy Correspondents of Nigeria (NAEC) conference in Lagos on October 7.
He spoke on the theme, ‘Nigeria’s Energy Future: Exploring Opportunities and Addressing Risks for Sustainable Growth.’
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