The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has firmly distanced the nation from the Supertanker SKIPPER, a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) recently seized by the United States Coast Guard over allegations of participation in the illicit trade of stolen crude oil.
Following widespread international media reports which had erroneously identified the, NIMASA issued an emphatic clarification, insisting that the tanker is neither registered under the Nigerian flag nor formally documented with the national maritime regulator.
In a comprehensive statement released on Saturday by Mr. Edward Osagie, the agency’s Head of Public Relations, NIMASA confirmed that while the vessel, bearing IMO Number 9304667, did indeed call into Nigerian waters at one point during 2024, its purported owners, Thomarose Global Ventures Limited, are entirely unknown to the agency and hold no official status as a registered shipping company.
Dr. Dayo Mobereola, the Director-General of NIMASA, took the opportunity to reaffirm Nigeria’s unwavering commitment to global cooperation in maritime security, stressing that any acts of criminality would be met with zero tolerance within the nation’s waters. He pledged the agency’s full collaborative support to U.S. authorities and other relevant stakeholders involved in the ongoing transatlantic investigation into the vessel’s activities.
“NIMASA wishes to put it on record that the VLCC SKIPPER is not a Nigerian-flagged vessel, and its purported owners, Thomarose Global Ventures Limited, were not registered with NIMASA as a shipping company,” the statement affirmed, addressing the need to correct the inaccurate narrative circulating in the press.
Further checks conducted by the Nigerian agency revealed significant discrepancies surrounding the VLCC’s alleged ownership. Investigations showed that the registered corporate address of Thomarose Global Services, cited as 111 Jakpa Road, Effurun, Warri, Delta State, was non-existent, with no company matching the name operating at the location.
NIMASA adduced that records demonstrate the vessel, formerly under the proprietorship of Triton Navigation Corp, has undergone a series of name changes over time a pattern often associated with deliberate attempts to obscure ownership and muddy its operational history.
Analysis retrieved from NIMASA’s sophisticated Command, Control, Communication, Computers and Intelligence (C4i) Centre detailed the vessel’s extensive international movements. The SKIPPER was last conclusively sighted in Nigerian waters on July 1, 2024.
After departing West Africa, the tanker continued its global operations, traversing through the Arabian Sea and subsequently into the Caribbean, where it was eventually intercepted by U.S. authorities. Independent vessel-tracking data revealed a complex itinerary from late 2024 through 2025:
- August 2024 – January 2025: Sighted around Kharg Island, near Iran.
- January – March 2025: Moved to Singapore.
- March – July 2025: Engaged in shuttling operations around Sri Lanka and returning to Kharg Island.
- July – August 2025: Travelled between Kharg Island and Hong Kong.
- August – November 2025: Transported crude oil to China, originating from the José Terminal in Venezuela.
The vessel was last observed at the José Terminal on November 14, shortly before its interception by U.S. maritime security forces, underscoring the international scope of the alleged illicit operations that NIMASA has now officially and conclusively disclaimed as Nigerian.
