The oil tanker Skipper, recently seized by U.S. forces, repeatedly falsified or concealed its location data, according to ship tracking information, apparently to mask its activities.
Skipper’s Disputed Recent History
All ships of a certain size are required to have an Automatic Identification System (AIS) onboard, broadcasting its position and visible on websites like MarineTraffic, under a United Nations treaty.
Ship-tracking firms Kpler and TankerTrackers.com have reported that the Skipper transmitted false AIS data regarding its location, a practice known as spoofing. At times, particularly in the summer and off the coast of Guyana in early November, no data was available.
From July to October, the ship’s AIS data indicated it was in the Persian Gulf, the South China Sea, and the Gulf of Oman, then traveled between Mozambique and Madagascar.
However, Kpler noted discrepancies between the AIS data and terminal reports. While the AIS showed the ship at Iraq’s Basrah Oil Terminal on July 7 and 8, terminal reports contained no record of the vessel. Kpler stated the Skipper instead loaded crude oil at Kharg Island in Iran.
AIS data places the Skipper off Guyana from late October until November 7. The signal from its onboard tracker was not detected again on MarineTraffic until December 10, following the U.S. seizure.
During this period of signal loss, TankerTrackers.com reports the ship was near Barcelona, Venezuela, and a satellite image shows it at a terminal there before heading northwest toward Curacao.
Both firms, Kpler and TankerTrackers.com, report that satellite imagery on December 7 shows the Skipper engaged in a ship-to-ship transfer with another vessel. The amount of oil cargo transferred remains unclear.
Further analysis of the Skipper’s movements is available.
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