US seizes Nigerian owned supertanker over suspected crude theft
The United States Coast Guard, working with the US Navy, has intercepted and seized a Nigerian owned supertanker named Skipper over allegations of crude oil theft and other transnational crimes. The 20 year old Very Large Crude Carrier, which has long operated in West African and South American waters, was taken under US law enforcement authority after a multi agency investigation raised red flags about its movements and cargo records. US security officials said intelligence reports linked the Skipper to suspected crude theft, piracy and possible drug trafficking across several jurisdictions. Beyond concerns over stolen oil, investigators are probing whether the vessel was moving a large consignment of hard drugs and funnelling proceeds through illicit financial networks. The tanker is said to be owned and managed in practice by Lagos based Thomarose Global Ventures Ltd, although its registered owner is […]
