Imagery Image Shows First Venezuelan Oil Ship Confiscated by US is Currently Near Texas.
American agents roped onto the deck of the tanker Skipper on December 10th.
Orbital data and ship tracking data has confirmed that the oil tanker Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the United States for reportedly carrying sanctioned crude from the Venezuelan regime – is currently positioned near of the state of Texas.
A satellite firm's orbital photographs from 21 December shows the tanker is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking feeds from MarineTraffic presently places the vessel about 80km from the coast.
The Skipper was taken into custody by American officials on 10 December and has been sanctioned by several nations. At the time it was intercepted, it was incorrectly flying the ensign of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the interception of a second oil vessel, the Centuries tanker. This ship – in contrast to the Skipper – was not under sanctions when it was taken into US custody.
US authorities are currently pursuing a third vessel, which has been identified by the risk management group a risk firm as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump said recently that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the TankerTrackers group noted the vessel Bella 1 has been “underway for 39 days” and, at an typical pace of 11 knots, may have “another 28 to 35 days of diesel remaining unless her velocity drops”.
The monitoring service added the vessel is “probably heading in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.
