Imagery Image Reveals First Venezuelan Oil Ship Confiscated by American Authorities is Currently Off Texas.
US personnel boarding the vessel of the tanker Skipper on December 10th.
Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring information has confirmed that the crude carrier Skipper – the first vessel seized by the United States for reportedly transporting embargoed oil from Venezuela – is currently off the coast of the state of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery dated 21 December indicates the ship is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking feeds from a maritime data service presently positions the Skipper about 50 miles from the coast.
The tanker Skipper was seized by American officials on 10 December and has been sanctioned by multiple governments. When it was intercepted, it was incorrectly sailing under the flag of the nation of Guyana.
This seizure was succeeded by the interception of a second tanker, the Centuries tanker. This ship – unlike the first vessel – was not yet under sanctions when it was brought under US custody.
US authorities are currently targeting a third ship, which has been named by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump stated recently that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the maritime monitoring group said the Bella 1 has been “in transit for 39 days” and, at an typical pace of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “another 28 to 35 days of diesel left unless her speed drops”.
The group further stated the vessel is “likely heading south-east towards South Africa”.
