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This ship is a known blockade runner. "The ship has frequently carried oil from countries under U.S. sanctions, and its tracking data shows multiple recent trip

by leopoldj 10mo ago

This ship is a known blockade runner. "The ship has frequently carried oil from countries under U.S. sanctions, and its tracking data shows multiple recent trips to Iran and Venezuela" https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/us/politics/oil-tanker-venezuela-tracking-data.html https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/us/politics/oil-tanker-ve...

Aloisius 10mo ago
For it to be a blockade runner, there would need to be a blockade. Are we blockading Venezuela? That would generally be considered an act of war.
- nradov 10mo ago
  Right. The official reason given for seizing the M/V Skipper was sanctions violation, not a blockade. I don't know whether this was the real reason but as of today other vessels are still sailing in and out of Venezuelan ports without interference. There is no blockade. The vessel is registered in Guyana so I guess they can complain if they think the seizure was illegitimate. https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:411444 https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:41...
  - dragonwriter 10mo ago
    > The official reason given for seizing the M/V Skipper was sanctions violation, not a blockade. “Sanctions” imposed by one country on another limiting its trade with third countries are (if force is used to effect them) a (limited) blockade and absolutely an act of war.
    - nradov 10mo ago
      Well then I guess Guyana can declare war on the USA if they want to.
  - perihelions 10mo ago
    Guyana says it's a false flag, > "The government of Guyana — which borders Venezuela — said in a statement Wednesday the ship was falsely flying the Guyanese flag, despite not being registered in the South American country" https://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-we-know-oil-tanker-the-skipper-seized-us-near-venezuela/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-we-know-oil-tanker-the-ski... (Context reminder: Guyana is the country Venezuela's Maduro threatened to invade in 2023). (Also context: the sanctions on this ship's Russian owner date from 2022, and are about violating US sanctions on Iranian oil).
    - monerozcash 10mo ago
      UNCLOS gives any state the authority to interdict stateless vessels.
      - deleted 10mo ago
        [deleted]
    - Aloisius 10mo ago
      The US pressures countries to deregister ships on US sanctions lists. The ship had previously been registered in Panama. It feels a little sketchy to force countries to deregister ships in order to seize them, but they could have flown Venezuela's flag instead of taking the risk of being stateless instead.
perihelions 10mo ago
Further context: it's owned by a sanctioned Russian oligarch, > "The ship — known as Adisa in 2022 — is among the vessels controlled by sanctioned Russian oil magnate Viktor Artemov, the Treasury said in a statement[...] The tanker is controlled by Nigeria-based management company Thomarose Global Ventures LTD and owned by a firm linked to Artemov, according to publicly available data." https://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-we-know-oil-tanker-the-skipper-seized-us-near-venezuela/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-we-know-oil-tanker-the-ski...

Aloisius 10mo ago

For it to be a blockade runner, there would need to be a blockade. Are we blockading Venezuela? That would generally be considered an act of war.

nradov 10mo ago
Right. The official reason given for seizing the M/V Skipper was sanctions violation, not a blockade. I don't know whether this was the real reason but as of today other vessels are still sailing in and out of Venezuelan ports without interference. There is no blockade. The vessel is registered in Guyana so I guess they can complain if they think the seizure was illegitimate. https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:411444 https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:41...
- dragonwriter 10mo ago
  > The official reason given for seizing the M/V Skipper was sanctions violation, not a blockade. “Sanctions” imposed by one country on another limiting its trade with third countries are (if force is used to effect them) a (limited) blockade and absolutely an act of war.
  - nradov 10mo ago
    Well then I guess Guyana can declare war on the USA if they want to.
- perihelions 10mo ago
  Guyana says it's a false flag, > "The government of Guyana — which borders Venezuela — said in a statement Wednesday the ship was falsely flying the Guyanese flag, despite not being registered in the South American country" https://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-we-know-oil-tanker-the-skipper-seized-us-near-venezuela/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-we-know-oil-tanker-the-ski... (Context reminder: Guyana is the country Venezuela's Maduro threatened to invade in 2023). (Also context: the sanctions on this ship's Russian owner date from 2022, and are about violating US sanctions on Iranian oil).
  - monerozcash 10mo ago
    UNCLOS gives any state the authority to interdict stateless vessels.
    - deleted 10mo ago
      [deleted]
  - Aloisius 10mo ago
    The US pressures countries to deregister ships on US sanctions lists. The ship had previously been registered in Panama. It feels a little sketchy to force countries to deregister ships in order to seize them, but they could have flown Venezuela's flag instead of taking the risk of being stateless instead.

perihelions 10mo ago

Further context: it's owned by a sanctioned Russian oligarch, > "The ship — known as Adisa in 2022 — is among the vessels controlled by sanctioned Russian oil magnate Viktor Artemov, the Treasury said in a statement[...] The tanker is controlled by Nigeria-based management company Thomarose Global Ventures LTD and owned by a firm linked to Artemov, according to publicly available data." https://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-we-know-oil-tanker-the-skipper-seized-us-near-venezuela/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-we-know-oil-tanker-the-ski...