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CMC file Photo of the oil tanker, SKIPPER.
GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC- Officials in Guyana say the oil tanker seized by the United States “was falsely flying the Guyana flag” and is not registered there.
In a statement, the Maritime Administration (MARAD) said it has “observed the proliferation and unacceptable use of the Guyana flag by vessels that are not registered in Guyana”.
It said that the US government had informed MARAD “that they encountered the Motor Tanker SKIPPER (ex-ADISA) IMO Number 9304667 in international waters. It was falsely flying the Guyana Flag, as it is not registered in Guyana”.
MARAD said it will continue “to reach out to and work with international partners and other maritime agencies to identify, pursue ad take firm action against any unauthorised use of the Guyana Flag”.
US President Donald Trump had earlier said that he SKIPPER was the largest crude tanker ever seized by American authorities even as the Venezuelan authorities called the seizure of the vessel “piracy”.
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela strongly denounces and condemns what constitutes a blatant theft and an act of international piracy, it said.
The Nicolas Maduro administration said there was now mounting evidence that the Trump administration’s goal is to take control of Venezuela’s oil that belong exclusively to the Venezuelan people.
“Venezuela calls on all Venezuelans to stand firm in defense of the homeland and urges the international community to reject this vandalistic, illegal, and unprecedented aggression that seeks to normalize itself as a tool of pressure and plunder.”
International media reports said that Washington had imposed sanctions on the tanker for what it claimed was involvement in Iranian oil trading when it was called the Adisa.
The SKIPPER is reported to have left Venezuela’s main oil port of Jose between December 4 and 5 after loading about 1.1 million barrels of Venezuela’s Merey heavy crude, according to satellite info analyzed by Tanker Trackers.com and internal shipping data from Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA.
The US has amassed a large military presence near Venezuela as part of its policy to eradicate the illegal drugs trade and blaming Maduro as heading the criminal gang involved in the drugs trade.
But Caracas has said that Trump is seeking to have a regime change in the South American country and has placed a US$50 million bounty on Maduro’s head.
