The U.S. Coast Guard seized the large oil tanker SKIPPER off the coast of Venezuela on Wednesday, concluding a three-year investigation into oil smuggling networks linked to Iran and sanctions evasion.
This vessel was originally named ADISA and was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in November 2022. It was part of a wide-ranging international operation that funneled money to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) and Hezbollah.
According to documents from the Treasury, the tanker ADISA was controlled by Triton Navigation Corp., which is a subsidiary of Centrum Maritime. Both of these companies are part of a complex network of shell companies run by Viktor Artemov, a Ukrainian national. The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) identified the vessel under Executive Order 13224, aimed at targeting terrorists and their supporters.
Brian E. Nelson from the Treasury stated that those operating this illegal network used shell companies and deceptive methods, including document forgery, to hide the origin of Iranian oil, sell it internationally, and avoid sanctions.
Artemov’s network managed dozens of shell companies registered in several locations, including the Marshall Islands, Mauritius, and Singapore. They utilized storage facilities in the Port of Sharjah, UAE, to mix Iranian oil with Indian oil and created fake certificates of origin before selling the oil overseas.
The ship ADISA was one of nine vessels specifically mentioned in the sanctions related to Artemov's network. Key individuals in this smuggling operation included Edman Nafrieh, an Iranian national who oversaw the blending and export of oil to direct profits to Hezbollah and IRGC-QF; Rouzbeh Zahedi, who coordinated oil transport and funding; and Mohamed El Zein, a member of Hezbollah, who used fake invoices to hide financial transactions.
The vessels often disabled or faked their Automatic Identification Systems and operated under flags from jurisdictions that were less strict about monitoring ship activities, helping them avoid attention from U.S. authorities.
Recent Operations and Seizure
Built in 2005 and capable of carrying around 2.2 million barrels of oil, the SKIPPER had been operating near Iran's Kharg Island since late 2024. Reports indicated that the tanker last loaded crude oil at Kharg Island in February and July 2025. It later transferred that oil near Hong Kong, ultimately delivering it to a refinery in Yantai, China.
Maritime intelligence firm Kpler confirmed that U.S. forces seized the sanctioned tanker after satellite images showed it loading Merey crude at Venezuela's José terminal. The tanker had taken on about 1.8 million barrels of heavy crude oil from Jose between December 4 and 5, sending around 200,000 barrels to another vessel headed for Cuba before it was intercepted by the U.S.
Kpler Risk and Compliance had previously marked SKIPPER as a high-risk vessel due to ongoing deceptive actions, including false reflagging and AIS spoofing. The vessel was involved in ship-to-ship transfers with the vessel Neptune 6, which was also flagged as high-risk.
After the 2022 sanctions, United Against Nuclear Iran added ADISA to its list of vessels evading U.S. sanctions, calling the seizure a "warning shot" directed at Iran's clandestine fleet.
Charlie Brown, the Director of the UANI Tanker Tracking Program, commented, "The U.S. seizure takes away another vessel that helps keep these authoritarian regimes in power. This move shows that the administration is ready to seize other tankers in the ghost fleet dodging U.S. sanctions."
According to the IMO GISIS database, the tanker SKIPPER was falsely registered under the Guyana flag, making it a stateless vessel. UANI praised Guyana for informing the International Maritime Organization that it had removed the ship from its registry following American sanctions.
This seizure represents the first time a Venezuelan oil cargo has been taken amidst U.S. sanctions that have been in place since 2019, and it marks the first known action against a tanker related to Venezuela since a military buildup in the area was ordered.
The case highlights what Kpler analysts refer to as "increasing disruption risks for Venezuelan STS operations" and "greater enforcement scrutiny for high-risk vessels," with enhanced monitoring anticipated along trade routes headed to China, especially off the Malaysian coast.
For the maritime industry, this seizure serves as a strong reminder of the ongoing risks tied to shadow fleet operations and the advanced tracking capabilities available to enforcement agencies.