Satellite Data Reveals Initial Venezuela-Linked Tanker Seized by American Authorities is Currently Near Texas.
American agents boarding the vessel of the Skipper on December 10th.
Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring data has confirmed that the crude carrier Skipper – the initial vessel seized by the United States for allegedly carrying embargoed oil from Venezuela – is currently off the coast of Texas.
Vantor orbital photographs from 21 December shows the ship is near Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking feeds from MarineTraffic currently positions the vessel about 50 miles offshore.
The Skipper was seized by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been sanctioned by several nations. At the time it was seized, it was incorrectly sailing under the ensign of Guyana.
This seizure was succeeded by the interception of a second tanker, the Centuries. This ship – unlike the first vessel – was not under official restrictions when it was brought under US custody.
US authorities are now pursuing a third such ship, which has been named by the risk management group a risk firm as the Bella 1 tanker. The US President said yesterday that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on X, the maritime monitoring group noted the Bella 1 has been “underway for over a month” and, at an typical pace of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “another 28 to 35 days of fuel remaining unless her speed drops”.
The group added the tanker is “likely traveling in a southeasterly direction towards South Africa”.
