Satellite Image Shows First Venezuelan Oil Ship Confiscated by American Authorities is Currently Near Texas.
American personnel roped onto the deck of the Skipper on December 10th.
Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring data has confirmed that the crude carrier Skipper – the first vessel seized by the United States for reportedly carrying sanctioned crude from the Venezuelan regime – is now off the coast of the state of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery dated 21 December indicates the tanker is near Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking data from a maritime data service presently places the Skipper about 50 miles from the coast.
The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by multiple governments. When it was intercepted, it was falsely flying the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This seizure was succeeded by the capture of a another oil vessel, the Centuries tanker. It – in contrast to the first vessel – was not yet under sanctions when it was brought under US custody.
US authorities are now pursuing a third vessel, which has been identified by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. The US President stated recently that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the TankerTrackers group said the vessel Bella 1 has been “in transit for 39 days” and, at an average speed of 11 knots, may have “another 28 to 35 days of fuel left unless her velocity decreases”.
The group further stated the vessel is “probably heading south-east towards the South African coast”.
