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Kpler analysts said the ship loaded "at least 1.1 million barrels of Merey crude" by 16 November at the terminal and listed Cuba as the destination. There is also evidence that the Skipper was involved in a ship-to-ship transfer with another vessel on 7 December, just days before it was boarded by US troops. Satellite images seen by Kpler appeared to show the exchange, with one of the vessels identified by Kpler as the Skipper. The transfer took place just off the coast of Venezuela, near the city of Barcelona. According to MarineTraffic, the Skipper had last appeared off the coast of Guyana weeks earlier. Kpler told BBC Verify that between 28 October and 4 December, the Skipper broadcasted "manipulated" AIS signals which did not reflect its actual location. Such sanction evading activity is not unusual for Venezuelan oil exports, Kpler said. The company said that tankers often transfer their cargo off the coast of Malaysia, before the oil is imported into China.

Former Belgian naval lieutenant and analyst Frederik Van Lokeren told BBC Verify that while such ship-to-ship transfers are not illegal or wrong, they are "extremely uncommon". He said such activities were normally a sign of vessels trying to evade sanctions, transferring oil to ships not publicly associated with smuggling. Mr Van Lokeren said that Venezuela's refining capacity has been significantly degraded in recent years and is "dependent" on its allies in Iran and Russia to convert its crude oil into more commercially lucrative products.

Who owns the Skipper?
MarineTraffic lists the beneficial owner and operator as Nigeria-based Thomarose Global Ventures Ltd and it lists the registered owner as Marshall Islands-based Triton Navigation Corp. In 2022, the US Treasury said that Triton was being used by a sanctioned Russian oil magnate - Viktor Artemov - to facilitate a global "oil smuggling network". At the time, US officials said Mr Artemov used an expansive network of ships often registered obscurely to transport Iranian oil. In its statement, the US Treasury said that Triton had "materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, Artemov".

BBC Verify is attempting to contact both companies for comment.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy8jvll9j81o