Imagery Data Reveals First Venezuela-Linked Tanker Confiscated by American Authorities is Currently Near the Texas Coast.
US agents boarding the vessel of the Skipper on December 10th.
Satellite imagery and ship tracking data has verified that the oil tanker Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the United States for allegedly carrying sanctioned crude from the Venezuelan regime – is now off the coast of the state of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery dated 21 December indicates the tanker is near the port of Galveston, while AIS vessel-tracking feeds from a maritime data service currently places the vessel about 80km offshore.
The Skipper was taken into custody by American officials on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by several governments. When it was seized, it was incorrectly sailing under the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the capture of a second tanker, the Centuries. It – unlike the Skipper – was not under official restrictions when it was taken into American control.
US authorities are currently targeting a third vessel, which has been named by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump stated yesterday that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the maritime monitoring group noted the vessel Bella 1 has been “in transit for 39 days” and, at an average speed of 11 knots, may have “approximately a month of fuel left unless her velocity decreases”.
The monitoring service further stated the tanker is “likely heading south-east towards South Africa”.
