Imagery Data Reveals First Venezuelan Tanker Confiscated by US is Now Off the Texas Coast.
US personnel roped onto the vessel of the Skipper on 10 December.
Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring data has verified that the oil tanker Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the US for allegedly carrying sanctioned oil from Venezuela – is now positioned near of Texas.
A satellite firm's satellite imagery dated 21 December shows the ship is in the vicinity of Galveston, while AIS ship-tracking data from a maritime data service currently places the Skipper about 50 miles offshore.
The Skipper was seized by American officials on 10 December and has been blacklisted by multiple governments. At the time it was seized, it was falsely flying the flag of the nation of Guyana.
This interception was succeeded by the interception of a second tanker, the Centuries. It – in contrast to the Skipper – was not yet under official restrictions when it was taken into US custody.
US authorities are now targeting a third such vessel, which has been identified by the maritime risk group a risk firm as the Bella 1 tanker. The US President said yesterday that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the TankerTrackers group noted the Bella 1 has been “in transit for over a month” and, at an typical pace of 11 knots, may have “another 28 to 35 days of diesel remaining unless her velocity drops”.
The monitoring service further stated the tanker is “probably heading in a southeasterly direction towards South Africa”.
