December 12, (THEWILL) — The United States Navy has seized a Nigerian-linked Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), Skipper, following allegations of crude oil theft, drug trafficking, and involvement in transnational organised crime.
The Skipper, a 20-year-old VLCC with IMO number 9304667, was reportedly operated by Thomarose Global Ventures Ltd., a Nigerian company currently listed as inactive by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
The high-profile interception was publicly confirmed by U.S. President Donald Trump. Authorities revealed that the tanker had been illegally flying the Guyanese flag.
Guyana’s authorities quickly disowned the vessel, stating it is not on their national ship registry and was never authorised to sail under its flag.
Preliminary U.S. intelligence suggests the tanker may be linked to a sophisticated criminal syndicate allegedly financed by Iranian-affiliated and Islamist money-laundering networks.
CAC records show that Thomarose Global Ventures Ltd., registered as No. 1007876 with an address at 111 Jakpa Road, Effurun, Warri, Delta State, has not updated its filings for years and has no valid contact number on record.
When contacted, the spokesman of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Edward Osagie, said the agency had not received an official briefing and requested a formal enquiry before issuing a detailed response.
The U.S. operation comes as the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) released data showing that Nigeria lost 13.5 million barrels of crude—worth $3.3 billion—between 2023 and 2024 due to theft and sabotage.
Speaking at the 2025 NAEC Conference, NEITI Executive Secretary Dr. Ogbonnanya Orji said the losses were sufficient to fund the entire federal health budget for a year or extend energy access to millions of households.
He also revealed that over 4,800 extractive assets have been identified through the Beneficial Ownership Register, while N1.5 trillion remains owed to the Federation by companies and government agencies.
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