Imagery Data Reveals First Venezuelan Oil Ship Seized by US is Now Off Texas.
US agents boarding the vessel of the Skipper on 10 December.
Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring information has verified that the oil tanker Skipper – the initial vessel seized by the US for reportedly transporting sanctioned crude from the Venezuelan regime – is now positioned near of the state of Texas.
A satellite firm's satellite imagery dated 21 December indicates the tanker is near the port of Galveston, while AIS vessel-tracking feeds from MarineTraffic currently positions the Skipper about 80km from the coast.
The tanker Skipper was seized by US authorities on 10 December and has been blacklisted by several nations. When it was seized, it was incorrectly sailing under the flag of Guyana.
This interception was followed by the interception of a another oil vessel, the Centuries tanker. It – unlike the Skipper – was not under sanctions when it was taken into American control.
American agencies are now targeting a third vessel, which has been identified by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. President Donald Trump said recently that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on X, the TankerTrackers group noted the vessel Bella 1 has been “underway for over a month” and, at an average speed of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “another 28 to 35 days of fuel remaining unless her speed decreases”.
The monitoring service further stated the tanker is “likely heading in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.
