Imagery Image Shows Initial Venezuelan Tanker Seized by American Authorities is Currently Off Texas.
American agents roped onto the deck of the Skipper on December 10th.
Satellite imagery and ship tracking data has verified that the oil tanker named Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the US for reportedly transporting sanctioned oil from the Venezuelan regime – is now off the coast of Texas.
A satellite firm's satellite imagery dated 21 December indicates the tanker is near Galveston, while AIS vessel-tracking feeds from MarineTraffic currently places the vessel about 80km offshore.
The Skipper was seized by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by multiple governments. At the time it was seized, it was falsely sailing under the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This seizure was succeeded by the interception of a another oil vessel, the Centuries. This ship – unlike the Skipper – was not under official restrictions when it was brought under US custody.
American agencies are now pursuing a third vessel, which has been named by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump said recently that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on X, the TankerTrackers group noted the Bella 1 has been “underway for over a month” and, at an average speed of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “another 28 to 35 days of fuel left unless her speed decreases”.
The monitoring service added the tanker is “probably traveling south-east towards the South African coast”.
