Satellite Data Reveals First Venezuela-Linked Tanker Confiscated by US is Now Off the Texas Coast.
American personnel boarding the deck of the tanker Skipper on December 10th.
Orbital data and ship tracking information has confirmed that the oil tanker named Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the United States for allegedly carrying sanctioned oil from the Venezuelan regime – is currently positioned near of the state of Texas.
Vantor orbital photographs from 21 December shows the ship is near the port of Galveston, while AIS ship-tracking feeds from a maritime data service presently places the Skipper about 50 miles offshore.
The Skipper was seized by American officials on the tenth of December and has been sanctioned by several nations. At the time it was seized, it was falsely sailing under the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This interception was followed by the interception of a another tanker, the Centuries. This ship – in contrast to the Skipper – was not yet under official restrictions when it was taken into US custody.
American agencies are now targeting a third vessel, which has been identified by the risk management group a risk firm as the Bella 1. The US President stated yesterday that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the TankerTrackers group said the vessel Bella 1 has been “underway for 39 days” and, at an average speed of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “approximately a month of diesel left unless her velocity decreases”.
The group further stated the vessel is “probably traveling in a southeasterly direction towards South Africa”.
