Imagery Image Shows First Venezuela-Linked Oil Ship Seized by American Authorities is Now Off the Texas Coast.
American agents boarding the vessel of the Skipper on 10 December.
Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring information has confirmed that the crude carrier named Skipper – the first vessel seized by the United States for allegedly transporting sanctioned crude from Venezuela – is currently positioned near of the state of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery from 21 December indicates the ship is near Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking feeds from MarineTraffic currently positions the vessel about 80km offshore.
The tanker Skipper was seized by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by several governments. At the time it was intercepted, it was falsely sailing under the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This interception was followed by the interception of a second tanker, the Centuries tanker. This ship – unlike the first vessel – was not under sanctions when it was taken into American control.
American agencies are currently pursuing a third ship, which has been identified by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump said yesterday that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the maritime monitoring group said the vessel Bella 1 has been “underway for 39 days” and, at an typical pace of 11 knots, may have “approximately a month of fuel left unless her velocity decreases”.
The monitoring service further stated the vessel is “likely traveling south-east towards South Africa”.
