Satellite Data Shows Initial Venezuela-Linked Oil Ship Seized by American Authorities is Currently Near Texas.
US agents boarding the deck of the Skipper on 10 December.
Orbital data and vessel monitoring information has confirmed that the oil tanker named Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the United States for allegedly transporting sanctioned crude from the Venezuelan regime – is currently off the coast of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery dated 21 December shows the tanker is near Galveston, while AIS ship-tracking feeds from MarineTraffic currently positions the vessel about 80km offshore.
The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been sanctioned by multiple nations. When it was seized, it was incorrectly flying the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the capture of a another oil vessel, the Centuries. It – in contrast to the Skipper – was not under sanctions when it was brought under US custody.
American agencies are now targeting a third vessel, which has been named by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1. The US President stated yesterday that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on X, the TankerTrackers group noted the vessel Bella 1 has been “in transit for over a month” and, at an typical pace of 11 knots, may have “approximately a month of diesel left unless her speed decreases”.
The group added the vessel is “likely heading in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.
