Imagery Image Reveals First Venezuelan Tanker Seized by US is Currently Off Texas.
US agents boarding the vessel of the tanker Skipper on 10 December.
Satellite imagery and ship tracking data has confirmed that the oil tanker named Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the US for reportedly transporting sanctioned oil from Venezuela – is now positioned near of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery from 21 December indicates the ship is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking data from MarineTraffic presently positions the Skipper about 80km from the coast.
The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by American officials on 10 December and has been sanctioned by several nations. When it was intercepted, it was falsely flying the flag of Guyana.
This interception was followed by the capture of a another oil vessel, the Centuries. It – in contrast to the first vessel – was not yet under official restrictions when it was taken into American control.
American agencies are now targeting a third such vessel, which has been identified by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump stated recently that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the maritime monitoring group said the Bella 1 has been “in transit for over a month” and, at an average speed of 11 knots, may have “approximately a month of fuel left unless her speed drops”.
The group added the vessel is “probably traveling south-east towards the South African coast”.
