Satellite Data Reveals First Venezuela-Linked Tanker Seized by US is Now Off Texas.
US agents roped onto the vessel of the Skipper on 10 December.
Satellite imagery and ship tracking information has confirmed that the crude carrier named Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the United States for allegedly transporting sanctioned oil from the Venezuelan regime – is currently off the coast of the state of Texas.
Vantor orbital photographs dated 21 December shows the ship is near the port of Galveston, while AIS ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic presently places the vessel about 80km offshore.
The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by US authorities on 10 December and has been sanctioned by multiple nations. When it was intercepted, it was falsely sailing under the flag of Guyana.
This interception was followed by the interception of a another tanker, the Centuries. It – unlike the Skipper – was not under official restrictions when it was taken into US custody.
American agencies are currently pursuing a third such ship, which has been identified by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. The US President said yesterday that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on X, the TankerTrackers group noted the vessel Bella 1 has been “underway for over a month” and, at an typical pace of 11 knots, may have “approximately a month of fuel left unless her velocity drops”.
The group further stated the vessel is “probably traveling in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.
