Imagery Image Shows Initial Venezuelan Tanker Seized by American Authorities is Now Near Texas.
American agents roped onto the vessel of the Skipper on December 10th.
Orbital data and vessel monitoring information has verified that the oil tanker named Skipper – the initial vessel seized by the United States for allegedly transporting embargoed crude from Venezuela – is now off the coast of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery from 21 December indicates the tanker is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking data from MarineTraffic presently places the Skipper about 80km from the coast.
The tanker Skipper was seized by American officials on the tenth of December and has been sanctioned by several governments. When it was intercepted, it was falsely sailing under the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the capture of a second oil vessel, the Centuries. This ship – in contrast to the Skipper – was not yet under sanctions when it was brought under US custody.
US authorities are now pursuing a third vessel, which has been identified by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump stated yesterday that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the maritime monitoring group said the Bella 1 has been “underway for 39 days” and, at an average speed of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “approximately a month of diesel remaining unless her speed drops”.
The monitoring service further stated the vessel is “probably heading south-east towards the South African coast”.
