Imagery Data Shows First Venezuela-Linked Oil Ship Confiscated by American Authorities is Now Off Texas.
American agents boarding the vessel of the Skipper on 10 December.
Satellite imagery and ship tracking data has verified that the crude carrier named Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the United States for allegedly transporting sanctioned oil from Venezuela – is now off the coast of Texas.
A satellite firm's satellite imagery dated 21 December shows the ship is in the vicinity of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking data from a maritime data service presently positions the Skipper about 80km from the coast.
The tanker Skipper was seized by US authorities on 10 December and has been sanctioned by several governments. At the time it was seized, it was incorrectly sailing under the ensign of Guyana.
This seizure was succeeded by the interception of a another tanker, the Centuries tanker. This ship – unlike the Skipper – was not under official restrictions when it was taken into US custody.
US authorities are currently targeting a third vessel, which has been named by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump stated yesterday that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the TankerTrackers group noted the vessel Bella 1 has been “in transit for 39 days” and, at an average speed of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “another 28 to 35 days of fuel left unless her velocity decreases”.
The group further stated the tanker is “probably traveling in a southeasterly direction towards South Africa”.