‘Ghost ships’ ferrying illicit oil have sailed into Trump’s crosshairs

After the U.S. seized a tanker carrying Venezuelan crude oil, the shadowy fleet of “ghost ships” used to evade sanctions drifted squarely into President Donald Trump’s crosshairs.

On Dec. 10, Trump announced the seizure of the “Skipper,” a vessel that secretly ferries oil in defiance of sanctions. 

The broader fleet, a clandestine armada of roughly 1,000 tankers, quietly navigates global sea routes to move oil from sanctioned countries like Russia, Iran and Venezuela.

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The so-called “ghost ships” sail under foreign flags to obscure their origins, repeatedly change names, shift ownership through shell companies, disable transponders to evade tracking and conduct mid-sea transfers to mask their cargo.

The result is a labyrinthine system of handoffs and disguised voyages.

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Benjamin Jensen, who heads the Futures Lab at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the challenge extends well beyond Venezuela.

“I do think it’s time that the United States and other countries start to address what really is a global problem,” explained Benjamin Jensen, director of the Futures Lab at the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Jensen said the seizure sends a shock not just to Caracas, but to other actors as well. 

“What we don’t know is how they’re following that up behind the scenes,” he said, adding that further seizures under Trump are possible.

With Venezuela’s economy tethered almost entirely to oil revenue, he noted that even a single interdiction can have an outsized impact. 

“Anything you do that puts pressure on their ability to bypass sanctions and trade in oil is a direct threat to the economy and, by extension, the regime,” he said. 

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has signaled that the seizure of the “Skipper” is only the opening salvo in a new effort to cut off the oil revenues that keep Moscow, Tehran and Caracas afloat.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that the vessel is “undergoing a forfeiture process.”

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“Right now, the United States currently has a full investigative team on the ground, on the vessel and individuals on board the vessel are being interviewed, and any relevant evidence is being seized,” Leavitt said, adding that the U.S. will take hold of the oil after the legal process is completed.

The move comes as China continues to be the leading importer of Iranian oil and the second-largest buyer of Russian crude, much of it routed through a growing fleet of nondescript tankers evading U.S. sanctions.

Earlier this year, the 19-year-old crude oil tanker named “Eventin” was seized by German authorities after the ship suffered engine failure in the Baltic Sea. The vessel was previously identified as a ship that exports Russian crude oil and other petroleum products.

German authorities discovered that the Panama-flagged vessel, which was previously named Charvi and Storviken, was carrying 99,000 tons, or approximately $45 million worth, of Russian oil.