Satellite Data Shows First Venezuelan Tanker Seized by US is Now Off the Texas Coast.
American personnel boarding the vessel of the Skipper on 10 December.
Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring data has confirmed that the oil tanker named Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the US for reportedly carrying sanctioned oil from Venezuela – is now off the coast of Texas.
A satellite firm's orbital photographs from 21 December indicates the ship is near Galveston, while AIS ship-tracking data from a maritime data service presently positions the vessel about 80km offshore.
The tanker Skipper was seized by American officials on 10 December and has been blacklisted by several governments. When it was intercepted, it was incorrectly flying the ensign of Guyana.
This seizure was succeeded by the interception of a second oil vessel, the Centuries. This ship – in contrast to the Skipper – was not yet under sanctions when it was taken into American control.
US authorities are now targeting a third such ship, which has been identified by the risk management group a risk firm as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump said yesterday that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the maritime monitoring group said the vessel Bella 1 has been “in transit for 39 days” 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 “likely heading in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.
