Imagery Image Shows First Venezuelan Tanker Confiscated by US is Currently Off Texas.
American personnel roped onto the deck of the Skipper on December 10th.
Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring information has verified that the oil tanker Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the US for reportedly transporting sanctioned oil from Venezuela – is currently off the coast of Texas.
Vantor orbital photographs dated 21 December indicates the ship is in the vicinity of Galveston, while AIS vessel-tracking data from MarineTraffic currently positions the Skipper about 80km from the coast.
The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by American officials on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by multiple governments. When it was seized, it was falsely sailing under the ensign of Guyana.
This seizure was succeeded by the interception of a another oil vessel, the Centuries. It – unlike the Skipper – was not under sanctions when it was brought under American control.
US authorities are currently pursuing a third such vessel, which has been identified by the maritime risk group a risk firm as the Bella 1 tanker. The US President said yesterday 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 “approximately a month of diesel left unless her velocity decreases”.
The monitoring service added the vessel is “likely traveling south-east towards the South African coast”.
