Imagery Data Reveals Initial Venezuelan Oil Ship Seized by US is Now Off Texas.
US agents roped onto the vessel of the tanker Skipper on 10 December.
Orbital data and ship tracking information has confirmed that the oil tanker named Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the US for allegedly carrying embargoed oil from Venezuela – is currently positioned near of Texas.
A satellite firm's orbital photographs dated 21 December shows the ship is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking feeds from a maritime data service currently positions the Skipper about 80km from the coast.
The tanker Skipper was seized by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been sanctioned by multiple nations. At the time it was seized, it was falsely sailing under the ensign of Guyana.
This interception was followed by the capture of a second oil vessel, the Centuries tanker. It – unlike the Skipper – was not under official restrictions when it was brought under US custody.
US authorities are now targeting a third such ship, which has been identified by the maritime risk 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 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 remaining unless her speed drops”.
The group further stated the vessel is “likely traveling in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.
