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The Independent Security Experts of Nigeria, ISEN, has asked President Bola Tinubu to immediately order an independent investigation into the seizure of a Nigerian-owned supertanker, Skipper, by the United States Coast Guard and the US Navy.
It will be recalled that the vessel was intercepted in December 2025 on suspicions of crude oil theft, piracy and drug trafficking. The supertanker was also said to have links 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 registered to Triton Navigation Corp of the Marshall Islands.
At the time of arrest the supertanker was illegally flying the Guyanese flag, and Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, records show Thomarose as inactive, with its address listed at 111 Jakpa Road, Effurun, Warri, Delta State, under registration number 1007876 and with no functional phone numbers.
In a statement on Saturday, the Independent Security Experts of Nigeria, ISEN, demanded an investigation to unmask the owners and operators of the vessel, as well as their enablers.
The security experts insisted that those operating the rogue vessel must be brought to justice without delay.
ISEN Lead Expert, Dean John, in the statement, condemned what he described as the brazen exploitation of an ordinary Nigerian’s company documents for international oil theft. The association insisted that such acts should not be allowed to continue.
“We demand that the Federal Government set up a high-powered panel with full prosecutorial powers to unravel every layer of this criminal enterprise.
“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 statement said, alleging that those operating the vessel are also involved in identity theft by using
The experts also alleged that the vessel is connected to the pipeline surveillance contract, which was set up by the Federal Government to prevent oil theft.
The group warned that failure to act decisively would only encourage more brazen theft, deepen the national revenue crisis and further erode public trust in institutions meant to safeguard the country’s most vital economic asset.
Tinubu asked to unmask operators of Nigerian-owned supertanker seized by US Coast Guard
