Imagery Image Reveals First Venezuela-Linked Tanker Confiscated by US is Now Near Texas.
American personnel boarding the deck of the Skipper on December 10th.
Orbital data and vessel monitoring information has verified that the oil tanker Skipper – the initial vessel seized by the United States for reportedly transporting sanctioned crude from the Venezuelan regime – is now off the coast of the state of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery from 21 December shows the tanker is near the port of Galveston, while AIS ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic currently positions 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. When it was intercepted, it was incorrectly sailing under the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This seizure was succeeded by the capture of a second tanker, the Centuries. This ship – in contrast to the first vessel – was not under sanctions when it was taken into US custody.
US authorities are now targeting a third vessel, which has been named 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 X, the TankerTrackers group noted the Bella 1 has been “underway for over a month” and, at an typical pace of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “approximately a month of diesel remaining unless her velocity drops”.
The group added the vessel is “probably heading south-east towards the South African coast”.
