Imagery Data Shows First Venezuela-Linked Oil Ship Confiscated by US is Currently Near Texas.
American agents boarding the deck of the tanker Skipper on 10 December.
Orbital data and ship tracking data has confirmed that the crude carrier Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the US for reportedly transporting embargoed oil from the Venezuelan regime – is now off the coast of the state of Texas.
Vantor orbital photographs dated 21 December indicates the tanker is near Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking data from a maritime data service currently places the Skipper about 50 miles offshore.
The Skipper was taken into custody by American officials on 10 December and has been sanctioned by multiple governments. When it was intercepted, it was falsely sailing under the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This interception was followed by the capture of a another tanker, the Centuries tanker. This ship – in contrast to the first vessel – was not yet under official restrictions when it was brought under American control.
US authorities are currently targeting a third such vessel, which has been identified by the risk management group a risk firm as the Bella 1 tanker. President Donald Trump said yesterday that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on X, the TankerTrackers group said the vessel Bella 1 has been “in transit for 39 days” and, at an typical pace of 11 knots, may have “approximately a month of diesel remaining unless her speed decreases”.
The monitoring service added the vessel is “probably heading in a southeasterly direction towards South Africa”.