Satellite Image Shows First Venezuelan Oil Ship Confiscated by American Authorities is Now Near Texas.
American personnel roped onto the deck of the Skipper on December 10th.
Orbital data and vessel monitoring data has verified that the oil tanker Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the US for allegedly carrying embargoed crude from Venezuela – is now off the coast of the state of Texas.
A satellite firm's orbital photographs dated 21 December shows the tanker is near the port of Galveston, while AIS vessel-tracking feeds from a maritime data service presently places the Skipper about 50 miles offshore.
The tanker Skipper was seized by US authorities on 10 December and has been sanctioned by multiple nations. At the time it was seized, it was falsely flying the flag of Guyana.
This interception was succeeded by the capture of a another oil vessel, the Centuries tanker. This ship – unlike the Skipper – was not yet under official restrictions when it was brought under US custody.
US authorities are now targeting a third such vessel, which has been identified by the risk management group a risk firm as the Bella 1 tanker. President Donald Trump stated yesterday that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on X, the TankerTrackers group said the 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 speed decreases”.
The monitoring service further stated the tanker is “probably heading south-east towards the South African coast”.
