Satellite Data Reveals First Venezuelan Tanker Seized by American Authorities is Now Off the Texas Coast.
US agents boarding the vessel of the tanker Skipper on December 10th.
Satellite imagery and ship tracking information has confirmed that the crude carrier Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the United States for allegedly transporting sanctioned oil from Venezuela – is now positioned near of Texas.
A satellite firm's satellite imagery from 21 December indicates the tanker is near Galveston, while AIS ship-tracking feeds from MarineTraffic presently places the Skipper 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 multiple nations. When it was seized, it was falsely flying the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the capture of a second tanker, the Centuries tanker. This ship – in contrast to the Skipper – was not under official restrictions when it was brought under American control.
US authorities are currently pursuing a third ship, which has been named by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump said recently that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on X, the TankerTrackers group said the vessel Bella 1 has been “underway for over a month” and, at an average speed of 11 knots, may have “another 28 to 35 days of fuel left unless her velocity decreases”.
The group added the tanker is “likely heading in a southeasterly direction towards South Africa”.
