Satellite Image Shows Initial Venezuelan Oil Ship Confiscated by US is Now Near Texas.
US personnel roped onto the deck of the Skipper on December 10th.
Orbital data and ship tracking information has verified that the oil tanker Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the United States for allegedly carrying embargoed oil from Venezuela – is now off the coast of Texas.
A satellite firm's satellite imagery dated 21 December shows the ship is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking data from a maritime data service presently positions the Skipper about 50 miles from the coast.
The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by multiple governments. At the time it was seized, it was incorrectly sailing under the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This seizure was succeeded by the interception of a second tanker, the Centuries. It – unlike the first vessel – was not yet under sanctions when it was brought under US custody.
US authorities are now pursuing a third vessel, which has been identified by the risk management group a risk firm as the Bella 1 tanker. President Donald Trump said yesterday that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on X, the TankerTrackers 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 remaining unless her speed drops”.
The monitoring service further stated the vessel is “likely traveling in a southeasterly direction towards South Africa”.
