Satellite Image Shows First Venezuelan Tanker Confiscated by US is Now Off the Texas Coast.
American agents boarding the vessel of the tanker Skipper on December 10th.
Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring data has verified that the crude carrier Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the US for allegedly transporting sanctioned oil from Venezuela – is now off the coast of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery from 21 December indicates the ship is near the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking data from a maritime data service currently places the Skipper about 50 miles from the coast.
The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by US authorities on 10 December and has been sanctioned by several nations. At the time it was intercepted, it was incorrectly sailing under the flag of the nation of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the capture of a another tanker, the Centuries. This ship – in contrast to the first vessel – was not yet under sanctions when it was brought under US custody.
American agencies are now pursuing a third such ship, which has been identified by the risk management group a risk firm as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump said yesterday that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on X, the TankerTrackers group noted the Bella 1 has been “in transit for over a month” and, at an typical pace of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “approximately a month of diesel left unless her speed decreases”.
The group further stated the tanker is “likely heading in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.
