Imagery Data Shows Initial Venezuela-Linked Oil Ship Confiscated by US is Currently Near Texas.
US agents boarding the vessel of the tanker Skipper on 10 December.
Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring data has confirmed that the oil tanker Skipper – the initial vessel seized by the US for reportedly carrying sanctioned crude from Venezuela – is now positioned near of the state of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery from 21 December indicates the tanker is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking feeds from a maritime data service currently positions the vessel about 80km offshore.
The Skipper was seized by American officials on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by several nations. At the time it was seized, it was falsely sailing under the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This interception was succeeded by the capture of a another oil vessel, the Centuries. It – unlike the first vessel – was not under official restrictions when it was taken into US custody.
US authorities are currently targeting a third vessel, which has been identified by the maritime risk group a risk firm as the Bella 1 tanker. President Donald Trump stated recently that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the maritime monitoring group noted the vessel Bella 1 has been “underway for 39 days” and, at an typical pace of 11 knots, may have “another 28 to 35 days of diesel remaining unless her speed drops”.
The monitoring service further stated the tanker is “probably traveling south-east towards South Africa”.