Imagery Image Shows First Venezuela-Linked Oil Ship Seized by American Authorities is Currently Off Texas.
US agents boarding the deck of the tanker Skipper on December 10th.
Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring information has confirmed that the oil tanker Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the US for allegedly carrying sanctioned oil from the Venezuelan regime – is currently off the coast of the state of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery dated 21 December indicates the ship is near Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking feeds from MarineTraffic presently places the vessel about 80km offshore.
The tanker Skipper was seized by US authorities on 10 December and has been blacklisted by several governments. At the time it was intercepted, it was falsely flying the flag of Guyana.
This interception was succeeded by the interception of a second oil vessel, the Centuries tanker. It – in contrast to the Skipper – was not under official restrictions when it was taken into American control.
US authorities are now targeting a third ship, which has been identified by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump said yesterday that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the TankerTrackers group noted the Bella 1 has been “underway for 39 days” and, at an typical pace of 11 knots, may have “another 28 to 35 days of fuel remaining unless her velocity drops”.
The group further stated the tanker is “likely heading in a southeasterly direction towards South Africa”.
