U.S. Seeks Immediate Sale of Shadow Tanker After Landing Crude Oil Cargo
The United States, in a court filing made on March 12, is asking for an order to permit an immediate interlocutory sale of the seized tanker Skipper and its oil cargo, which is now being stored onshore. The filing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia asserts that the expenses of holding the tanker and its oil cargo will quickly negate the value of the cargo.
The tanker, which was built in 2005 and has been operating in the shadow fleet since 2022, is reported to be in very poor condition, with the U.S. saying it has repaired serious safety deficiencies to maintain the vessel. The 310,000 dwt vessel, which is 333 meters (1,093 feet) in length, is too large to enter the Houston Ship Channel. It has been held in the anchorage off Texas since December 21, 2025.
The United States seized the tanker in the Caribbean on December 10 as the first of the Trump administration’s efforts to stop the Venezuelan oil trade. The forfeiture case was filed on February 26, and the following day, the court granted the arrest warrant for the vessel and its cargo.
Without specifying when, the U.S. reports it has transferred the oil cargo of approximately 1.8 million barrels of Venezuelan oil to an onshore storage facility pending resolution of the case before the court. In the original filing, the U.S. documented the vessel’s involvement with the Iranian and Venezuelan oil trades and said the current cargo was loaded in mid-November in Venezuela, with the majority, 1.1 million barrels, destined for Cuba.
Reuters reported yesterday that LSEG and Kpler showed that a lightering tanker was going to the Skipper. The filing appears to show that the offloading was done earlier.
The vessel was claiming to be sailing under the flag of Guyana, which is false. It has not had a known registry since 2022, when its classification was also withdrawn. Its last known inspection was in 2019. Databases list the owners as a corporation in Nigeria.
In today’s filing, the U.S. says it has spent $47 million to date in repairs and maintenance of the vessel, as well as for the storage of the oil cargo. It expects the amount could increase by a further $5 million based on insurance costs, crew, and weather considerations over the next two months. The U.S. reports it is spending $15,000 per day, $450,000 per month, to store the oil onshore.
The current value of the Skipper is listed at $10 million. The oil cargo’s value is estimated at between $120 and $135 million, depending on the quality and market fluctuations.
that matters most
Get the latest maritime news delivered to your inbox daily.
The proposed order would give the government the power to contact interested buyers for the ship and the cargo. If it received a reasonable price, it could go forward, but the proceeds would be held in an interest-bearing account until the forfeiture case is completed.
This is the first of the forfeiture cases that the U.S. Department of Justice announced based on the tanker seizures. Last month, the U.S. seized three laden tankers in the Indian Ocean, and it was reported to be towing the empty tanker Marinera (Bella 1) from Scotland to the United States.