Imagery Image Reveals First Venezuelan Oil Ship Seized by US is Currently Off Texas.
US agents roped onto the deck of the Skipper on December 10th.
Satellite imagery and ship tracking data has verified that the oil tanker named Skipper – the initial vessel seized by the United States for reportedly carrying sanctioned crude from Venezuela – is now off the coast of the state of Texas.
A satellite firm's orbital photographs dated 21 December indicates the ship is near the port of Galveston, while AIS vessel-tracking feeds from MarineTraffic currently places the vessel about 80km from the coast.
The tanker Skipper was seized by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by multiple nations. When it was intercepted, it was incorrectly sailing under the ensign of Guyana.
This seizure 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 American control.
American agencies are now targeting a third ship, which has been identified by the maritime risk group a risk firm as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump stated yesterday that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the TankerTrackers group noted the Bella 1 has been “underway for 39 days” and, at an average speed of 11 knots, may have “another 28 to 35 days of fuel remaining unless her speed drops”.
The monitoring service added the tanker is “likely heading south-east towards South Africa”.
