Imagery Data Shows First Venezuela-Linked Tanker Confiscated by US is Now Near Texas.
American agents boarding the deck of the tanker Skipper on 10 December.
Satellite imagery and ship tracking information has confirmed that the oil tanker Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the United States for reportedly transporting embargoed crude from Venezuela – is currently positioned near of Texas.
A satellite firm's satellite imagery from 21 December indicates the ship is in the vicinity of Galveston, while AIS vessel-tracking data from MarineTraffic currently places the Skipper about 80km from the coast.
The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by American officials on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by several governments. At the time it was seized, it was falsely sailing under the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the capture of a another oil vessel, the Centuries tanker. It – unlike the first vessel – was not under sanctions when it was taken into US custody.
US authorities are now targeting a third ship, which has been named by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump stated yesterday that “we’ll end up getting it”.
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 knots, may have “approximately a month of diesel left unless her speed drops”.
The group added the tanker is “probably traveling south-east towards South Africa”.