US Targets Ghost Tanker in Iran & Venezuela Oil Sanctions Case

The US Department of Justice (DoJ) has filed a civil forfeiture complaint seeking the seizure of a crude oil tanker and approximately 1.8 million barrels of oil allegedly connected to sanctions evasion involving Iran and Venezuela.

The complaint, filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, targets the motor tanker Skipper, which was seized on the high seas in December 2025. Authorities also seek forfeiture of the cargo on board, consisting of crude oil supplied by Petróleos de Venezuela SA (PdVSA), Venezuela’s state owned oil company. According to the DoJ, the vessel and its cargo generated financial support for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including the IRGC Qods Force (IRGC QF), both designated as Foreign Terrorist Organisations (FTO).

Investigators allege that the Skipper formed part of a broader sanctions evasion scheme operating from at least 2021. During this period, the vessel transported crude oil from Iran and Venezuela to destinations around the world through deceptive maritime practices. These included ship to ship transfers, falsified vessel registration, spoofed location signals and the use of false flags to conceal routes and cargo origins.

The complaint states that in 2024 the tanker delivered approximately three million barrels of Iranian crude oil to Syria. The vessel allegedly continued transporting illicit cargo into 2025, including loading oil from Iran on multiple occasions.

The Skipper was previously sanctioned by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on 3 November 2022, when it operated under the name Adisa. Authorities say the tanker was part of a network of vessels used to move sanctioned oil globally while concealing the origin of the cargo.

At the time of the seizure, the vessel was carrying roughly 1.8 million barrels of Venezuelan origin crude oil loaded at the José Terminal in November 2025. Shipping documentation indicated that around 1.1 million barrels were destined for Cubametales, the Cuban state oil import and export company designated by OFAC in July 2019.

US law enforcement seized the tanker on 10 December 2025 pursuant to a judicially authorised warrant. Officials said the vessel was sailing under a false Guyanese flag, effectively rendering it stateless under international maritime law. The tanker and its cargo were subsequently transported to waters off the coast of Texas.

The investigation is being led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Minneapolis Field Office and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington DC Field Office, with additional support from HSI New York.

Authorities say the action reflects increased efforts to disrupt so called ghost fleets used by sanctioned regimes to transport illicit oil and generate revenue. These fleets typically rely on stateless or falsely registered vessels and opaque shipping practices to bypass international sanctions and enforcement measures.

If successful, the forfeiture would remove both the tanker and its cargo from circulation and further restrict financial flows linked to the IRGC and its global activities. The complaint remains an allegation, and the US government must prove the property is subject to forfeiture in court.

Read the press release here.