Imagery Image Reveals First Venezuelan Tanker Confiscated by US is Now Off the Texas Coast.
American agents roped onto the deck of the Skipper on December 10th.
Orbital data and vessel monitoring information has confirmed that the oil tanker named Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the US for reportedly carrying embargoed oil from Venezuela – is currently positioned near of the state of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery from 21 December shows the tanker is near the port of Galveston, while AIS vessel-tracking feeds from MarineTraffic presently positions the Skipper about 80km from the coast.
The tanker Skipper was seized by American officials on 10 December and has been blacklisted by multiple nations. At the time it was intercepted, it was incorrectly flying the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This interception was succeeded by the capture of a another tanker, the Centuries. This ship – in contrast to the first vessel – was not under official restrictions when it was brought under American control.
American agencies are now targeting a third such ship, which has been named by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump said recently that “it will ultimately be secured”.
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 “another 28 to 35 days of fuel left unless her velocity decreases”.
The monitoring service further stated the vessel is “likely heading south-east towards South Africa”.
