Satellite Image Shows First Venezuelan Tanker Confiscated by American Authorities is Currently Off the Texas Coast.
American personnel boarding the vessel of the tanker Skipper on 10 December.
Orbital data and vessel monitoring data has confirmed that the crude carrier named Skipper – the initial vessel seized by the US for reportedly transporting sanctioned crude from the Venezuelan regime – is now 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 AIS vessel-tracking data from MarineTraffic presently places the Skipper about 80km from the coast.
The Skipper was seized by American officials on the tenth of December and has been sanctioned by multiple nations. When it was intercepted, it was incorrectly sailing under the flag of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the interception of a second tanker, the Centuries tanker. It – unlike the first vessel – was not yet under official restrictions when it was taken into US custody.
American agencies are now pursuing a third vessel, which has been identified by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. The US President said yesterday that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on X, the TankerTrackers group noted the Bella 1 has been “underway for over a month” and, at an typical pace of 11 knots, may have “another 28 to 35 days of fuel left unless her velocity decreases”.
The monitoring service added the tanker is “probably heading south-east towards South Africa”.
