President Trump announced this afternoon from the White House that the United States had just seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela.
"As you probably know, we've just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, a large tanker, very large," he said. "Largest one ever seized, actually. And other things are happening, so you'll be seeing that later and you'll be talking about that later with some other people."
When asked by a reporter what will happen to the oil on the ship, Mr. Trump responded, "Well we keep it, I guess," adding, "I assume we're going to keep the oil."
The president declined to say who owns the oil tanker, and didn't provide further details.
Here's video of the announcement.
Prresident Trump didn't offer many details but said there would be more to come including images. Just a few moments ago AG Pam Bondi released this clip.
Today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, and the United States Coast Guard, with support from the Department of War, executed a seizure warrant for a crude oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran. For multiple… pic.twitter.com/dNr0oAGl5x
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) December 10, 2025
Today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, and the United States Coast Guard, with support from the Department of War, executed a seizure warrant for a crude oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran. For multiple years, the oil tanker has been sanctioned by the United States due to its involvement in an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations. This seizure, completed off the coast of Venezuela, was conducted safely and securely—and our investigation alongside the Department of Homeland Security to prevent the transport of sanctioned oil continues.
Reuters reports the tanker is called called Skipper.
British maritime risk management group Vanguard said the tanker Skipper was believed to have been seized off Venezuela early on Wednesday. The U.S. has imposed sanctions on the tanker for what Washington said was involvement in Iranian oil trading when it was called the Adisa.
The Skipper left Venezuela's main oil port of Jose between December 4 and 5 after loading Venezuela's Merey heavy crude, according to satellite info analyzed by TankerTrackers.com and PDVSA's internal shipping data.
And CBS is now confirming this and reporting that there could be more seizures like this to come.
BREAKING via @CBSNews: The oil tanker the US seized was "The Skipper," per sources. The operation started around 6 a.m. today and involved 2 helicopters with special operations forces--10 Marines and 10 Coast Guard--that launched from a US military vessel. 🚨Trump admin is… https://t.co/tmCpLtLaTJ
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) December 10, 2025
Trump admin is contemplating more missions like this, I'm told. Skipper was sanctioned by the US Treasury in 2022 for ties to the IRGC and Hezbollah.
So this is a big escalation of our pressure on President Nicolas Maduro. Oil is practically Venezuela's only product. It accounts for around 95% of the country's export revenue and represents about 60% of the country's budget. So obviously, preventing Venezuela from selling oil will have an immediate impact on the country's finances.
Coincidentally, there's another oil tanker story in the news today. Ukraine used some sea-drones to attack a tanker that is part of Russia's shadow oil fleet. The tanker was hit by several of the drones and is apparently disabled.
BREAKING:
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) December 10, 2025
Ukrainian "Sea Baby" naval drones have struck another Russian “shadow fleet” oil tanker in the Black Sea.
"Dashan" sailed under the flag of Comoros. pic.twitter.com/BBbMKSYQHL
This is the third such attack in the past two weeks.
A Ukrainian security source told CNN that Sea Baby maritime drones were used in a joint operation by the SBU and the navy. It was the third attack against Russian tankers in two weeks.
Russia has been using hundreds of tankers, flying different flags, to clandestinely ship its oil to customers in defiance of Western sanctions.
The Dashan tanker, which was flying the flag of the Comoro Islands, suffered “critical damage,” with preliminary information indicating the ship was “disabled,” the source said. There was no immediate comment from Russia.
Avoiding US oil sanctions isn't limited to Iran and Venezuela. Russia has been doing it for years. By striking these ships, Ukraine hopes to make the routine shipping of Russian oil too risky for tanker owners and therefore much less profitable for Russia.
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