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Dark-Fleet Tanker At Epicenter Of Iran's Shadow Oil Trade Seized By U.S. Commandos

Tyler Durden's Photo
by Tyler Durden
Authored...

Welcome to Monroe Doctrine 2.0 - a revival of gunboat diplomacy - where U.S. forces just carried out an exceptionally rare move: seizing a massive dark-fleet tanker off Venezuela, long known as a key tanker for Iran's shadow oil trade.

Maritime tracker MarineTraffic shows that the vessel commandeered by a U.S. special operations team, which rappelled onto the tanker's deck from a Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday (watch here), is the VLCC Skipper, carrying a million barrels of crude.

Here's more from MarineTraffic:

U.S. forces seize tanker linked to covert Venezuelan crude shipment

U.S. forces have seized an oil #tanker believed to be the VLCC Skipper, after satellite imagery showed she secretly loading 1.1 million barrels of sanctioned Merey crude at Venezuela's José Terminal. The vessel had been transmitting falsified AIS positions during the operation, a tactic increasingly used by "dark fleet" tankers tied to Venezuelan and Iranian trades.

MarineTraffic data shows the vessel has been sanctioned by OFAC since November 2022 and repeatedly linked to high-risk activity. Her cargo history includes multiple liftings from Venezuela and Iran, while operational risk signals show a two-month AIS gap in Iranian waters. The vessel has also conducted high-risk and dark STS transfers in the Red Sea, Iranian and Syrian zones, alongside multiple AIS spoofing events. Here's the playback of the vessel's latest movements.

Anas Alhajji of Energy Outlook Advisors asked several key questions after the U.S. seized the tanker:

  • Who is the target?

  • What is the impact on global oil markets?

  • Shipping?

  • Tanker rates?

Intelligence firm Kpler noted:

The seizure underscores Washington's escalating efforts to crack down on dark-fleet activity tied to Iranian and Venezuelan crude trades.

The incident comes amid heightened U.S. military presence in the region, and as Venezuela's crude exports dropped to 700 kbd in November. The Skipper has been repeatedly linked to sanction evasion tactics, including spoofing and mislabeled Iranian cargoes routed through Asia, raising alarms about ongoing maritime deception.

Satellite imagery from November 14 shows the seized VLCC Skipper loading crude at Venezuela's José Oil Terminal. Credit: European Union Copernicus Sentinel.

In markets, Brent crude round-tripped any fears of market disruptions as this seizure off Venezuela's shore is isolated.

CBS cited a statement from the Venezuelan government that read, "It strongly denounces and repudiates what constitutes a shameless robbery and an act of international piracy."

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