The United States seized a massive oil tanker this week off the coast of Venezuela that has been a key part of Iran’s illegal shadow fleet for years — and Trump administration officials say it’s just the beginning of an aggressive crackdown on vessels illegally transporting sanctioned oil.
U.S. special forces rappelled from helicopters onto the deck of the tanker Skipper on December 10, taking control of the vessel carrying approximately 1.8 million barrels of Venezuelan heavy crude.
The administration says the United States is preparing to intercept more ships transporting sanctioned oil, according to multiple reports.
There are approximately 30 tankers under U.S. sanctions that transport Venezuelan crude as part of the shadow fleet, and officials say they have already compiled a list of vessels targeted for seizure.
“President Trump’s bold decision will also send a warning shot to the Iranian regime that his administration is prepared to seize additional Ghost Armada tankers which are evading U.S. sanctions,” said Charlie Brown, director of the United Against Nuclear Iran Tanker Tracking Program.
The Treasury Department this week also imposed fresh sanctions on Maduro’s family and six companies operating illegal tankers that have kept Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA exports alive through deceptive shipping practices.
The newly sanctioned tankers are flagged in the Marshall Islands, Panama, or the Cook Islands and were blacklisted for moving Venezuelan crude while illegally spoofing their trackers to mask their routes.
The shadow fleet, which makes up an estimated 10 to 20 percent of the global tanker fleet, consists of aging vessels often operated through complex networks of shell companies that make ownership difficult to determine. These vessels disguise their travel by manipulating the Automatic Identification System that large ships must use to transmit their location and speed.
Iran’s economy is heavily reliant on oil revenues, and experts say seizing these vessels is especially damaging to the regime’s finances.
Venezuela condemned the seizure as an “act of international piracy,” with President Maduro claiming the crew was “kidnapped” and the ship “stolen.” Russia’s President Vladimir Putin “reaffirmed his support for the Nicolas Maduro government’s policies aimed at protecting national interests and sovereignty in the face of growing external pressure.”
The seizure represents the latest step in the Trump administration’s maximum pressure campaign against Iran and marks the first seizure of a Venezuelan oil cargo since U.S. sanctions were imposed in 2019. Built in 2005, the Skipper is capable of carrying about 2.2 million barrels of cargo and is classified as a Very Large Crude Carrier.
The U.S. government often sells confiscated goods and redistributes the proceeds.
“This is going to increase the cost of running shadow fleet ships, and it’s going to make it less appealing, even for some of these inscrutable characters,” Robin Brooks, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said.