Overview
- The vessel was identified as The Skipper, a 20-year-old very large crude carrier previously sanctioned in 2022 for links to Iranian oil networks tied to the IRGC and Hezbollah, with ownership connections reported to Viktor Artemov through Thomarose Global Ventures.
- Attorney General Pam Bondi released a 45-second video of the helicopter boarding and said agents executed a seizure warrant because the tanker had been used to transport sanctioned crude from Venezuela and Iran.
- U.S. officials said the mission launched from the USS Gerald R. Ford involved two helicopters, special operations forces, a Coast Guard maritime response team, and Marines, with the Coast Guard in the lead under law-enforcement authorities.
- Venezuela condemned the action as “international piracy” and vowed to take complaints to global bodies, while oil futures rose modestly on supply-risk concerns.
- Shipping data indicate more than 30 U.S.-sanctioned tankers working Venezuela could face heightened interdiction and delays as the shadow fleet reassesses risk, though Chevron said its licensed operations continue normally.