Imagery Data Reveals First Venezuelan Tanker Seized by American Authorities is Currently Near Texas.
American personnel roped onto the vessel of the Skipper on 10 December.
Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring information has verified that the crude carrier Skipper – the first vessel seized by the US for allegedly transporting embargoed oil from Venezuela – is now off the coast of the state of Texas.
Vantor orbital photographs dated 21 December shows the tanker is near the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking data from MarineTraffic currently places the Skipper about 50 miles from the coast.
The Skipper was seized by American officials on 10 December and has been blacklisted by multiple governments. When it was intercepted, it was incorrectly flying the ensign of Guyana.
This interception was followed by the capture of a second tanker, the Centuries. This ship – in contrast to the Skipper – was not yet under official restrictions when it was taken into US custody.
American agencies are currently targeting a third vessel, which has been identified by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1. The US President said recently that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on X, the TankerTrackers group noted the vessel Bella 1 has been “in transit for over a month” and, at an typical pace of 11 knots, may have “approximately a month of fuel remaining unless her velocity drops”.
The group added the tanker is “probably heading in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.
