US special forces' "ghost ship" appears off Venezuela
The US military has confirmed that the MV Ocean Trader, a special forces support vessel often called a “ghost ship” because it rarely transmits location signals and has no naval markings, has appeared in the Caribbean Sea, off the coast of Venezuela.
The US Navy's Naval Transport Command confirmed to Task & Purpose on October 2 that the MV Ocean Trader is currently operating in the Caribbean, but did not disclose its specific mission.
Satellite imagery released by analyst MT Anderson late last month showed a ship with a similar structure to the MV Ocean Trader in the Caribbean. The ship was last seen at the NSA Bahrain base in the Middle East in May 2025.
Experts and former naval officers said the US military has long used converted commercial ships for covert missions, and the Ocean Trader is often mentioned in this role.
From cargo ship to special forces ship
Ocean Trader was originally the MV Cragside, a cargo ship built by Maersk at Odense Steel in Denmark. The ship was launched in 2010 and delivered in 2011. In November 2013, Maersk received a $73 million contract to convert it into a special operations support ship at the request of the US Navy. The ship is designed to be at sea for 45 days, has a crew of 50 and enough space for 159 special forces soldiers and accompanying military equipment.
The ship has a fuel tank for military helicopters, a launch and recovery system for high-speed boats, inflatable boats, equipment for divers, an operating room, a classified communications area, and a defense system with 12.7 mm machine guns and is equipped with FLIR infrared sensors.
In terms of dimensions, Ocean Trader is 193 m long, 26 m wide, has a displacement of nearly 21,000 tons, and a maximum speed of 37 km/h. The ship has a simple white paint job, keeping the appearance of a commercial ship to “hide” among other cargo ships. While moving, the ship usually turns off its AIS identification system and does not appear in public databases.
Recent images show that the ship has been equipped with additional communication antennas, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) launcher at the stern, and a special boat launch bay on the starboard side.
US naval power off the coast of Venezuela
The appearance of Ocean Trader coincides with the time when the US has deployed the largest naval force in the Caribbean Sea since the 1960s. In addition to Ocean Trader, the US naval ships present include the destroyers USS Stockdale, USS Jason Dunham, USS Gravely, cruiser USS Lake Erie, littoral combat ship USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul, and an amphibious assault group with the flagship USS Iwo Jima and the ships USS San Antonio and USS Fort Lauderdale. The Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered submarine USS Newport News is also present in the area.
On land in the territory of Puerto Rico, about 700 km from Venezuela, the US deployed squadrons of F-35 fighter jets, P-8A Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft and armed MQ-9 Reaper UAVs.
According to analysts, the Ocean Trader plays the role of a “mother ship” – a place to live and set up a command post, and can also deploy speedboats, helicopters and UAVs for anti-drug, reconnaissance and intelligence gathering missions. With a low-profile design, it helps the US military conduct special operations without creating a strong deterrent effect or attracting attention like other military ships.