Imagery Image Reveals Initial Venezuelan Oil Ship Seized by US is Now Off the Texas Coast.
US agents boarding the deck of the Skipper on December 10th.
Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring information has verified that the crude carrier named Skipper – the initial vessel seized by the United States for reportedly carrying embargoed crude from Venezuela – is currently off the coast of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery from 21 December shows the tanker is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while AIS vessel-tracking feeds from a maritime data service presently positions the vessel about 50 miles from the coast.
The Skipper was taken into custody by US authorities on 10 December and has been sanctioned by several nations. When it was intercepted, it was incorrectly flying the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the interception of a another tanker, the Centuries. This ship – in contrast to the Skipper – was not under official restrictions when it was taken into American control.
US authorities are currently pursuing a third such vessel, which has been identified by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump stated recently that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the TankerTrackers group said the Bella 1 has been “in transit for over a month” and, at an typical pace of 11 knots, may have “approximately a month of fuel left unless her speed drops”.
The monitoring service added the tanker is “probably traveling in a southeasterly direction towards South Africa”.
