Satellite Image Reveals Initial Venezuelan Oil Ship Confiscated by American Authorities is Now Off the Texas Coast.
US personnel boarding the deck of the tanker Skipper on December 10th.
Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring data has verified that the oil tanker named Skipper – the initial vessel seized by the US for reportedly transporting sanctioned crude from the Venezuelan regime – is now off the coast of the state of Texas.
Vantor orbital photographs dated 21 December shows the tanker is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking feeds from MarineTraffic currently positions the vessel about 80km from the coast.
The tanker Skipper was seized by American officials on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by several governments. When it was intercepted, it was falsely flying the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This interception was followed by the capture of a second oil vessel, the Centuries tanker. It – in contrast to the Skipper – was not yet under sanctions when it was taken into US custody.
American agencies are now pursuing a third ship, which has been identified by the risk management group a risk firm as the Bella 1. The US President stated yesterday that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the TankerTrackers group noted the vessel Bella 1 has been “in transit for over a month” and, at an typical pace of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “another 28 to 35 days of diesel remaining unless her velocity drops”.
The monitoring service further stated the tanker is “likely traveling in a southeasterly direction towards South Africa”.
