Satellite Image Reveals First Venezuelan Tanker Confiscated by US is Now Off the Texas Coast.
American personnel boarding the vessel of the tanker Skipper on 10 December.
Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring information has verified that the oil tanker named Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the US for allegedly transporting sanctioned crude from Venezuela – is currently off the coast of Texas.
A satellite firm's orbital photographs from 21 December indicates the tanker is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking data from a maritime data service currently positions the Skipper about 50 miles offshore.
The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by US authorities on 10 December and has been blacklisted by several governments. When it was seized, it was incorrectly flying the ensign of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the interception of a another tanker, the Centuries tanker. It – unlike the first vessel – was not yet under sanctions when it was brought under American control.
American agencies are now pursuing a third ship, which has been named by the risk management group a risk firm as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump stated recently 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 group added the tanker is “probably heading south-east towards the South African coast”.