Satellite Data Shows Initial Venezuelan Oil Ship Seized by US is Currently Near Texas.
American agents boarding the deck of the Skipper on December 10th.
Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring information has verified that the oil tanker named Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the US for reportedly transporting sanctioned crude from Venezuela – is currently off the coast of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery dated 21 December shows the ship is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while AIS vessel-tracking feeds from MarineTraffic currently positions the vessel about 50 miles from the coast.
The Skipper was taken into custody by American officials on the tenth of December and has been sanctioned by several governments. At the time it was intercepted, it was falsely sailing under the flag of the nation of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the interception of a another oil vessel, the Centuries tanker. It – unlike the first vessel – was not yet under sanctions when it was brought under US custody.
US authorities are now targeting a third such ship, which has been named by the risk management group a risk firm as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump said recently that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the maritime monitoring group said the vessel Bella 1 has been “in transit for 39 days” and, at an average speed of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “approximately a month of fuel left unless her velocity drops”.
The monitoring service added the vessel is “probably traveling in a southeasterly direction towards South Africa”.
