Why the Seizure of The Skipper Was Perfectly Legal — And a Blow to Maduro, Iran and Hezbollah

The Skipper Seizure: When Good Ships Get Caught in the Shadow Fleet Dragnet

The recent U.S. seizure of the Venezuelan oil tanker Skipper raises uncomfortable questions about how sanctions enforcement can inadvertently undermine the very maritime safety standards that protect our ocean. While the US government justifies this action as necessary to enforce sanctions and disrupt Venezuela’s oil trade, the seizure of a properly insured, well-maintained vessel may be driving the shipping industry toward precisely the dangero…

Why the Seizure of The Skipper Was Perfectly Legal — And a Blow to Maduro, Iran and Hezbollah

By John F. Di Leo, Opinion ContributorThe American Left – along with certain Trump Derangement Syndrome-stricken Republicans – greeted the news of the American seizure of a tanker full of Venezuelan and Iranian oil with glee, happily parroting the talking points of Venezuela’s marxist dictator, Nicolas Maduro, in branding it “piracy on the high seas.” As is usually the case where such matters are concerned, however, once the facts are seriously …