Imagery Data Reveals First Venezuelan Oil Ship Seized by American Authorities is Currently Off the Texas Coast.
US agents roped onto the vessel of the tanker Skipper on 10 December.
Orbital data and vessel monitoring data has verified that the oil tanker Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the US for allegedly carrying embargoed oil from the Venezuelan regime – is now off the coast of the state of Texas.
A satellite firm's satellite imagery dated 21 December indicates the ship is near Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking feeds from MarineTraffic presently places the Skipper about 80km offshore.
The Skipper was seized by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by several governments. At the time it was seized, it was incorrectly sailing under the flag of Guyana.
This interception was succeeded by the interception of a second oil vessel, the Centuries. It – in contrast to the Skipper – was not 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 Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. President Donald Trump said recently that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on X, the TankerTrackers group noted the Bella 1 has been “in transit for over a month” and, at an typical pace of 11 knots, may have “another 28 to 35 days of fuel remaining unless her velocity drops”.
The group further stated the vessel is “probably heading south-east towards South Africa”.
