Satellite Data Reveals Initial Venezuelan Oil Ship Seized by US is Currently Off Texas.
US agents boarding the vessel of the tanker Skipper on December 10th.
Orbital data and ship tracking data has confirmed that the oil tanker named Skipper – the initial vessel seized by the US for reportedly carrying sanctioned crude from the Venezuelan regime – is currently off the coast of Texas.
A satellite firm's orbital photographs from 21 December shows the tanker is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking data from MarineTraffic currently positions the Skipper about 50 miles from the coast.
The Skipper was taken into custody by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been sanctioned by several governments. At the time it was intercepted, it was incorrectly sailing under the ensign of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the capture of a second tanker, the Centuries. It – unlike the first vessel – was not yet under sanctions when it was brought under US custody.
American agencies are now targeting a third such vessel, which has been named by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. The US President stated recently that “it will ultimately be secured”.
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 typical pace of 11 knots, may have “another 28 to 35 days of diesel remaining unless her velocity drops”.
The monitoring service added the tanker is “probably traveling in a southeasterly direction towards South Africa”.
