Satellite Image Reveals Initial Venezuela-Linked Tanker Confiscated by US is Now Near the Texas Coast.
US agents roped onto the deck of the Skipper on December 10th.
Orbital data and ship tracking information has verified that the oil tanker Skipper – the first vessel seized by the United States for allegedly carrying sanctioned crude from the Venezuelan regime – is currently positioned near of Texas.
A satellite firm's satellite imagery dated 21 December shows the ship is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic presently places the Skipper about 80km offshore.
The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by multiple nations. When it was intercepted, it was falsely sailing under the ensign of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the interception of a second oil vessel, the Centuries. It – unlike the first vessel – was not under sanctions when it was brought under US custody.
US authorities are now pursuing a third such vessel, which has been identified by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1. The US President stated yesterday that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the maritime monitoring group said the Bella 1 has been “underway for over a month” and, at an average speed of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “approximately a month of fuel remaining unless her speed decreases”.
The group added the vessel is “likely traveling south-east towards South Africa”.
