Imagery Data Reveals Initial Venezuela-Linked Tanker Confiscated by US is Now Near the Texas Coast.
American personnel roped onto the deck of the Skipper on 10 December.
Orbital data and vessel monitoring information has confirmed that the crude carrier named Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the US for allegedly carrying sanctioned crude from the Venezuelan regime – is now off the coast of Texas.
A satellite firm's orbital photographs from 21 December indicates the tanker is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking feeds from MarineTraffic currently positions the vessel about 50 miles from the coast.
The tanker Skipper was seized by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by several governments. At the time it was intercepted, it was incorrectly flying the flag of the nation of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the interception of a another oil vessel, the Centuries. This ship – unlike the first vessel – was not yet under official restrictions when it was brought under US custody.
American agencies are currently targeting a third such vessel, which has been identified by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. The US President said recently that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the TankerTrackers group said the vessel Bella 1 has been “in transit for over a month” and, at an typical pace of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “approximately a month of fuel remaining unless her speed drops”.
The monitoring service further stated the vessel is “probably traveling in a southeasterly direction towards South Africa”.
