Satellite Image Reveals Initial Venezuela-Linked Oil Ship Confiscated by US is Currently Off Texas.
US personnel boarding the deck of the tanker Skipper on December 10th.
Orbital data and vessel monitoring information has confirmed that the crude carrier Skipper – the initial vessel seized by the United States for allegedly transporting embargoed crude from the Venezuelan regime – is currently positioned near of the state of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery from 21 December shows the ship is in the vicinity of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking data from a maritime data service presently places the Skipper about 80km offshore.
The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by American officials on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by several nations. When it was intercepted, it was falsely flying the flag of Guyana.
This interception was succeeded by the interception of a another oil vessel, the Centuries tanker. It – in contrast to the first vessel – was not yet under official restrictions when it was taken into US custody.
American agencies are now targeting a third vessel, which has been identified by the maritime risk group a risk firm as the Bella 1 tanker. President Donald Trump stated yesterday that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the maritime monitoring group noted the vessel 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 fuel remaining unless her speed drops”.
The monitoring service further stated the tanker is “likely heading in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.
