Satellite Data Reveals Initial Venezuelan Oil Ship Confiscated by US is Currently Near Texas.
US personnel boarding the vessel of the Skipper on December 10th.
Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring information has confirmed that the crude carrier named Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the US for reportedly carrying embargoed oil from Venezuela – is now positioned near of Texas.
A satellite firm's satellite imagery from 21 December indicates the ship is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while AIS ship-tracking feeds from a maritime data service currently positions the vessel about 80km offshore.
The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been sanctioned by multiple nations. When it was seized, it was falsely sailing under the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the interception of a second tanker, the Centuries tanker. It – unlike the first vessel – was not yet under sanctions when it was brought under US custody.
American agencies are currently pursuing a third vessel, which has been named by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump stated recently that “we’ll end up getting it”.
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 “another 28 to 35 days of diesel remaining unless her velocity drops”.
The group further stated the tanker is “likely traveling in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.
