US seeks ownership of seized supertanker linked to illicit Iranian oil trade

The US Department of Justice has filed a civil lawsuit seeking the confiscation of the oil tanker Skipper and its cargo of 1.8 million barrels of crude oil, alleging the vessel was used in a large sanctions-evasion scheme that financed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The complaint, submitted to the US District Court for the District of Columbia, requests that ownership of both the seized supertanker and its cargo be transferred to the US government, as per foreign media reports.

According to prosecutors, the vessel played a central role in transporting oil in violation of international sanctions and generating revenue for sanctioned Iranian entities.

US authorities state that the tanker systematically concealed its movements by falsifying location data, spoofing tracking signals, and operating under false national flags, including that of Guyana, in order to disguise its routes. Investigators say the ship transported millions of barrels of Iranian- and Venezuelan-origin fuel over several years while attempting to evade monitoring systems.

According to the investigation, a confidential source told US officials that during the past two years alone, the tanker loaded about seven million barrels of Iranian oil on behalf of sanctioned entities linked to the IRGC. Prosecutors allege that the scheme has been operating since at least 2021 and included deliveries of Iranian crude to Syria in 2024 using falsified tracking information to bypass restrictions.

The tanker was seized on the high seas near Venezuela in December last year. After its detention, crew members reportedly confirmed that the vessel had initially been bound for Cuba but later received urgent instructions to change course toward an Asian destination in order to sell the cargo.

The current shipment — loaded in Venezuela in November 2025 and partly intended for sanctioned Cuban companies — forms part of the forfeiture case. US prosecutors argue that the vessel provided material support to the IRGC, including its Al-Quds Force, by helping finance operations through illicit oil sales.

US Attorney Janine Ferris-Piro said authorities would continue targeting such operations to deprive Iran of revenue allegedly used to support terrorism. Officials describe the seizure as part of a broader US strategy to curb illicit oil trade networks tied to both Iranian and Venezuelan state-owned companies and to disrupt smuggling routes that rely on so-called “ghost tankers.”

According to the Pentagon, US forces have intercepted ten similar vessels since December, including several detained in the Indian Ocean following extended surveillance operations. The confiscation of the Skipper and its cargo, if approved by a federal judge, would mark another step in efforts to dismantle sanctions-evasion networks operating across global shipping routes.

By Tamilla Hasanova