Imagery Image Shows Initial Venezuelan Oil Ship Confiscated by American Authorities is Currently Near the Texas Coast.
American personnel boarding the vessel of the tanker Skipper on 10 December.
Satellite imagery and ship tracking information has verified that the crude carrier Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the US for allegedly transporting sanctioned crude from Venezuela – is now positioned near of the state of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery dated 21 December indicates the tanker is near Galveston, while AIS vessel-tracking data from MarineTraffic currently places the vessel about 80km offshore.
The Skipper was seized by American officials on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by several nations. At the time it was intercepted, it was incorrectly flying the flag of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the interception of a second tanker, the Centuries. This ship – unlike the first vessel – was not yet under official restrictions when it was taken into US custody.
American agencies are currently pursuing a third vessel, which has been identified by the risk management group a risk firm as the Bella 1 tanker. President Donald Trump said recently that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the TankerTrackers group noted the Bella 1 has been “underway for 39 days” and, at an average speed of 11 knots, may have “another 28 to 35 days of diesel left unless her velocity drops”.
The monitoring service added the vessel is “probably heading south-east towards South Africa”.
