The Independent Security Experts of Nigeria (ISEN) has called on President Bola Tinubu to order an immediate independent investigation into the seizure of a Nigerian-linked supertanker, Skipper, by the United States Coast Guard and the United States Navy.
The vessel was reportedly intercepted in December 2025 over suspicions of crude oil theft, piracy and drug trafficking. Authorities also alleged that the supertanker had connections with Iranian and Islamist money-laundering networks.
The 20-year-old Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), with IMO Number 9304667, was reportedly owned and managed by Nigeria-based Thomarose Global Ventures Ltd, while it was registered to Triton Navigation Corp of the Marshall Islands.
Reports indicated that at the time of its arrest, the supertanker was illegally flying the flag of Guyana.
Records from the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) show that Thomarose Global Ventures Ltd is listed as inactive. The company’s registered address is 111 Jakpa Road, Effurun, in Warri, Delta State, under registration number 1007876, with no functional phone numbers on record.
In a statement issued on Saturday, ISEN demanded a comprehensive investigation to identify the real owners and operators of the vessel, as well as individuals or entities that may have facilitated its operations.
The group insisted that all those linked to the rogue vessel should be brought to justice without delay.
ISEN Lead Expert, Dean John, condemned what he described as the exploitation of an ordinary Nigerian’s company documents for international crude oil theft.
“We demand that the Federal Government set up a high-powered panel with full prosecutorial powers to unravel every layer of this criminal enterprise,” the statement said.
“Every individual and entity linked to the ownership, management and loading of the Skipper must be arrested and brought to certain justice. Nigeria’s crude oil belongs to the people, not to a cabal of untouchables.”
The group also alleged that the operators of the vessel were involved in identity theft by using corporate documentation belonging to another entity.
According to the experts, the vessel may also be connected to the Federal Government’s pipeline surveillance contract established to curb oil theft.
ISEN warned that failure to take decisive action could embolden further crude oil theft, deepen Nigeria’s revenue crisis and weaken public confidence in institutions responsible for protecting the country’s key economic resources.
