Imagery Image Shows Initial Venezuelan Oil Ship Confiscated by American Authorities is Now Near the Texas Coast.
US personnel boarding the vessel of the Skipper on 10 December.
Orbital data and vessel monitoring data has confirmed that the oil tanker Skipper – the first vessel seized by the US for allegedly carrying embargoed crude from Venezuela – is now off the coast of the state of Texas.
A satellite firm's satellite imagery dated 21 December indicates the ship is near Galveston, while AIS ship-tracking feeds from a maritime data service presently positions the vessel about 50 miles offshore.
The Skipper was taken into custody by American officials on 10 December and has been sanctioned by multiple nations. When it was seized, it was falsely flying the flag of the nation of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the interception of a another tanker, the Centuries. It – unlike the first vessel – was not under sanctions when it was brought under American control.
US authorities are now targeting a third vessel, which has been named by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump stated recently that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on X, the TankerTrackers group noted the vessel Bella 1 has been “underway for 39 days” and, at an average speed of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “approximately a month of fuel left unless her velocity drops”.
The group further stated the vessel is “probably heading in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.
