Imagery Image Shows First Venezuela-Linked Tanker Confiscated by American Authorities is Now Off the Texas Coast.
American agents roped onto the vessel of the tanker Skipper on December 10th.
Orbital data and vessel monitoring data has confirmed that the oil tanker named Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the United States for allegedly carrying sanctioned oil from the Venezuelan regime – is currently off the coast of the state of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery from 21 December shows the tanker is near the port of Galveston, while AIS ship-tracking feeds from a maritime data service currently places the vessel about 50 miles offshore.
The Skipper was seized by American officials on 10 December and has been sanctioned by several nations. When it was intercepted, it was incorrectly sailing under the flag of Guyana.
This interception was followed by the capture of a another oil vessel, the Centuries. This ship – in contrast to the Skipper – was not yet under sanctions when it was taken into US custody.
American agencies are currently targeting a third vessel, which has been named by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1. The US President said recently that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the maritime monitoring group noted the Bella 1 has been “in transit for 39 days” and, at an typical pace of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “approximately a month of diesel left unless her velocity decreases”.
The monitoring service added the tanker is “probably traveling in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.
