Imagery Image Shows Initial Venezuela-Linked Oil Ship Confiscated by US is Currently Near the Texas Coast.
US personnel roped onto the vessel of the tanker Skipper on 10 December.
Orbital data and ship tracking data has confirmed that the crude carrier named Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the United States for allegedly transporting embargoed crude from Venezuela – is now off the coast of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery dated 21 December indicates the tanker is near Galveston, while AIS ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic presently places the Skipper about 80km offshore.
The tanker Skipper was seized by US authorities on 10 December and has been sanctioned by several nations. When it was seized, it was falsely sailing under the flag of the nation of Guyana.
This interception was succeeded by the capture of a second tanker, the Centuries tanker. This ship – in contrast to the Skipper – was not under sanctions when it was taken into US custody.
American agencies are currently pursuing a third such ship, which has been identified by the risk management group a risk firm as the Bella 1. The US President stated yesterday that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the TankerTrackers group noted the vessel Bella 1 has been “in transit for over a month” and, at an average speed of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “approximately a month of diesel remaining unless her speed decreases”.
The group further stated the vessel is “probably heading south-east towards the South African coast”.
