Satellite Data Reveals First Venezuelan Oil Ship Seized by American Authorities is Now Near Texas.
US agents boarding the deck of the tanker Skipper on December 10th.
Satellite imagery and ship tracking information has confirmed that the oil tanker Skipper – the initial vessel seized by the US for reportedly carrying sanctioned oil from Venezuela – is currently off the coast of the state of Texas.
A satellite firm's orbital photographs dated 21 December shows the ship is near the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking data from a maritime data service currently positions the vessel about 80km from the coast.
The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by American officials on the tenth of December and has been sanctioned by several governments. When it was intercepted, it was incorrectly sailing under the ensign of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the capture of a second oil vessel, the Centuries tanker. This ship – in contrast to the first vessel – was not under sanctions when it was brought under American control.
US authorities are now pursuing a third such ship, which has been identified by the risk management group a risk firm as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump said yesterday that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on X, the TankerTrackers group noted the Bella 1 has been “in transit for over a month” and, at an average speed of 11 knots, may have “another 28 to 35 days of diesel remaining unless her speed drops”.
The monitoring service added the tanker is “likely heading in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.
