Satellite Image Shows First Venezuela-Linked Oil Ship Confiscated by US is Currently Near the Texas Coast.
American personnel roped onto the deck of the tanker Skipper on December 10th.
Orbital data and ship tracking data has verified that the crude carrier Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the United States for allegedly transporting sanctioned oil from Venezuela – is currently off the coast of the state of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery dated 21 December shows the ship is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while AIS vessel-tracking feeds from MarineTraffic currently positions the vessel about 80km from the coast.
The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been sanctioned by multiple nations. When it was seized, it was falsely flying the ensign of Guyana.
This interception was followed by the capture of a second oil vessel, the Centuries. This ship – unlike the Skipper – was not yet under official restrictions when it was taken into US custody.
US authorities are now pursuing a third vessel, which has been identified by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump 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 over a month” and, at an average speed of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “approximately a month of diesel left unless her speed drops”.
The group added the vessel is “likely traveling south-east towards South Africa”.