NIMASA has confirmed a vessel seized by the U.S. for alleged oil theft was last in Nigerian waters in mid-2024 but denies any registration link to it, pledging cooperation with an international investigation while maritime experts call for a Nigerian probe.
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has responded to reports of a seized Nigerian-owned tanker. In a statement, NIMASA confirmed the vessel, VLCC SKIPPER, was last in Nigerian waters on July 1, 2024, but stressed it is not Nigerian-flagged. The agency said the purported owner, Thomarose Global Ventures Limited, “were not registered with NIMASA as a shipping company.”
Director-General Dr. Dayo Mobereola reaffirmed commitment to collaborate with U.S. authorities in the investigation. The agency tracked the vessel’s movements from Nigeria to the Arabian Sea and Caribbean, where the U.S. interdiction occurred. Vanguard reports the company’s registered address in Warri is non-existent, and the vessel was sighted near Iran and Venezuela in 2025.
Former NIMASA DG Temisan Omatseye said the U.S. was “trying to hang a dog by giving it a bad name,” as the seizure was in international waters. The Nigerian Association of Master Mariners called for a government delegation to investigate, stating the need to “ascertain the facts” since Nigeria’s name is involved.