Imagery Image Reveals First Venezuela-Linked Oil Ship Confiscated by US is Currently Near the Texas Coast.
American personnel roped onto the vessel of the tanker Skipper on December 10th.
Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring information has verified that the oil tanker Skipper – the first vessel seized by the United States for allegedly transporting embargoed oil from the Venezuelan regime – is currently off the coast of Texas.
Vantor orbital photographs from 21 December shows the ship is near Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking data from a maritime data service currently places the vessel about 80km from the coast.
The Skipper was taken into custody by US authorities on 10 December and has been blacklisted by several governments. When it was seized, it was incorrectly sailing under the flag of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the interception of a second oil vessel, the Centuries. It – in contrast to the first vessel – was not under sanctions when it was taken into American control.
US authorities are currently targeting a third such vessel, 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 said the Bella 1 has been “in transit for 39 days” and, at an average speed of 11 knots, may have “another 28 to 35 days of diesel left unless her velocity decreases”.
The monitoring service added the tanker is “likely heading south-east towards South Africa”.