Imagery Image Shows First Venezuela-Linked Oil Ship Confiscated by American Authorities is Currently Near the Texas Coast.
US personnel roped onto the vessel of the tanker Skipper on 10 December.
Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring data has verified that the crude carrier Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the US for allegedly carrying embargoed crude from the Venezuelan regime – is currently positioned near of Texas.
Vantor orbital photographs from 21 December shows the ship is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while AIS vessel-tracking data from MarineTraffic currently places the vessel about 80km offshore.
The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by American officials on 10 December and has been blacklisted by multiple governments. At the time it was intercepted, it was incorrectly flying the flag of the nation of Guyana.
This interception was followed by the interception of a another tanker, the Centuries tanker. It – in contrast to the Skipper – was not under official restrictions when it was brought under American control.
American agencies are now pursuing a third ship, which has been identified by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. President Donald Trump stated yesterday that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on X, the TankerTrackers group noted the vessel Bella 1 has been “underway for 39 days” and, at an typical pace of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “another 28 to 35 days of fuel left unless her velocity drops”.
The monitoring service added the vessel is “probably traveling south-east towards South Africa”.
