The United States has increased enforcement efforts targeting Venezuela's oil trade, including the seizure of the tanker The Skipper, as Venezuela continues to employ a network of vessels, often referred to as "ghost ships," to bypass US sanctions imposed in 2019. This practice involves multiple tactics to obscure the origin and destination of oil, contributing to a partial recovery in Venezuela's crude exports despite ongoing restrictions. The use of such covert fleets is also observed among other oil-producing nations facing international sanctions.
US Sanctions and Enforcement Actions
US sanctions against Venezuela's state-run oil company, PDVSA, were first implemented in 2019. These measures aim to restrict Venezuela's oil exports, a primary source of government revenue for the South American nation.
On December 10, US forces seized an oil tanker identified as The Skipper off the Venezuelan coast. This action was followed by an announcement on December 16 by President Donald Trump, via his Truth Social account, of a "total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going into, and out of, Venezuela."
Prior to the recent seizure, TankerTrackers.com data from the preceding week indicated that over 30 of approximately 80 ships operating in or approaching Venezuelan waters were subject to US sanctions.
Venezuela's Oil Exports Under Sanctions
Following the imposition of US sanctions in January 2019, Venezuelan crude exports decreased from approximately 1.1 million barrels per day (bpd) to about 495,000 bpd by the end of that year, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Despite the ongoing sanctions, Reuters reported that Venezuela's oil exports reached approximately 920,000 bpd as of November, indicating a partial recovery in export volumes. This figure remains below Venezuela's peak oil export level of 3 million bpd in 1998.
Global Scope of Covert Shipping
The use of "ghost fleets" is not unique to Venezuela. Financial intelligence firm S&P Global estimates that 20% of the global oil tanker fleet is involved in transporting oil from sanctioned nations. This includes an estimated 10% dedicated to Venezuelan oil, 20% to Iranian oil, and 50% to Russian oil, with the remaining 20% transporting oil from multiple sanctioned countries. Sanctioned nations typically offer their oil at discounted rates to incentivize buyers who may face secondary sanctions.
Evasion Tactics Employed by Covert Fleets
Vessels operating within these fleets utilize various strategies to obscure the origin and destination of oil and evade detection:
- Identity Alteration: Tankers frequently change their names or flags, sometimes multiple times within a month. For example, The Skipper had previously been named Adisa and originally Toyo. These vessels are often older, with The Skipper being 20 years old.
- "Zombie Ships": This tactic involves using the unique International Maritime Organization (IMO) registration numbers of vessels that have already been decommissioned. In April, a 32-year-old vessel named Varada, flying the flag of the Comoros, arrived in Malaysian waters from Venezuela. Bloomberg identified it as a "zombie ship," as the original Varada had been scrapped in Bangladesh in 2017.
- Transshipment: Oil is transferred in international waters to legally compliant tankers flying different flags. These compliant tankers then deliver the oil to its destination, presenting it as originating from a non-sanctioned country. This method was observed with Venezuelan oil exports to China after sanctions were tightened during a previous US administration.
- Automatic Identification System (AIS) Manipulation: Vessels may disable their AIS, which broadcasts identity, position, and route data, to avoid detection. Additionally, some ships engage in AIS "spoofing," transmitting false signals to appear in a different location. Maritime risk company Vanguard Tech suggested The Skipper had been spoofing its position for an extended period. International treaty requires ships above a specific tonnage to operate an AIS.
Case Study: The Tanker Skipper
The oil tanker The Skipper, seized by US forces, was identified by BBC Verify through visual evidence from US-released footage. US Attorney General Pam Bondi stated the vessel transported sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran.
The Skipper had been sanctioned by the US Treasury in 2022 when it operated under the name Adisa. The sanctions cited its alleged involvement in an "international oil smuggling network" linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah. Although The Skipper sailed under the flag of Guyana, the Guyanese government issued a statement clarifying that the vessel was "falsely flying the Guyana Flag" and was not registered in Guyana. Maritime experts have suggested the vessel operated as part of the "dark fleet," a network of tankers reportedly obscuring ownership, identities, and travel histories to evade oil sanctions.
Location Data Inconsistencies:
Public ship tracking data for The Skipper prior to its seizure provided an incomplete record of its movements. Its last declared AIS position was recorded on November 7, reappearing on December 10 after the US raid.
- MarineTraffic, a public tracking site, recorded The Skipper's last known port call as Soroosh, Iran, on July 9, following stops in Iraq and the UAE.
- Maritime analytics firm Kpler, however, suggested a pattern of misleading entries. Kpler analysts reported that the vessel had loaded crude oil from Venezuela and Iran while simultaneously falsifying its position via AIS spoofing.
- Kpler noted that while the vessel's AIS showed it at Iraq's Basrah Oil Terminal on July 7 and 8, terminal reports did not corroborate its presence. Instead, Kpler data suggested The Skipper loaded crude oil at Kharg Island in Iran.
- Tracking data then indicated The Skipper sailed east, where Kpler reported a ship-to-ship transfer between August 11 and 13. The cargo was subsequently unloaded in China, with its declaration reportedly inconsistent with observed movements, according to Kpler.
- Satellite images identified by TankerTrackers.com and verified by BBC Verify showed The Skipper present in the Port of Jose, Venezuela, on November 18, during a period when it was not appearing on public tracking sites. Kpler analysts reported that the ship loaded "at least 1.1 million barrels of Merey crude" by November 16 at the Jose terminal, with Cuba reportedly listed as the destination.
- Satellite images observed by Kpler suggested another ship-to-ship transfer involving The Skipper on December 7, days before the US boarding, near the city of Barcelona, off the Venezuelan coast.
Frederik Van Lokeren, an analyst and former Belgian naval lieutenant, stated that while ship-to-ship transfers are not inherently illegal, they are "extremely uncommon" and often indicative of vessels attempting to evade sanctions by transferring oil to ships not publicly associated with illicit activities. Analysts have also noted that concealing or spoofing positions while loading oil in Venezuela has become a common practice since the imposition of sanctions. Venezuela's refining capacity has reportedly degraded, leading to a reliance on allies such as Iran and Russia for converting crude oil into refined products.