Imagery Image Reveals First Venezuela-Linked Oil Ship Confiscated by American Authorities is Now Off Texas.
US agents boarding the vessel of the Skipper on 10 December.
Orbital data and vessel monitoring data has verified that the oil tanker Skipper – the initial vessel seized by the United States for reportedly transporting embargoed crude from Venezuela – is now off the coast of Texas.
A satellite firm's satellite imagery dated 21 December shows the tanker is near Galveston, while AIS ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic presently positions the vessel about 50 miles offshore.
The tanker Skipper was seized by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been sanctioned by multiple nations. At the time it was intercepted, it was falsely sailing under the ensign of Guyana.
This interception was followed by the capture of a another oil vessel, the Centuries tanker. It – unlike the first vessel – was not yet under official restrictions when it was taken into US custody.
American agencies are currently pursuing a third ship, which has been named by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump stated recently that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the TankerTrackers group noted the Bella 1 has been “in transit for 39 days” and, at an typical pace of 11 knots, may have “approximately a month of diesel left unless her speed decreases”.
The monitoring service added the tanker is “probably traveling in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.
