Satellite Data Shows Initial Venezuelan Oil Ship Seized by American Authorities is Currently Off Texas.
US agents boarding the vessel of the tanker Skipper on 10 December.
Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring information has verified that the crude carrier named Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the United States for reportedly transporting embargoed crude from Venezuela – is currently off the coast of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery from 21 December shows the tanker is near Galveston, while AIS vessel-tracking feeds from a maritime data service presently positions the Skipper about 50 miles offshore.
The Skipper was taken into custody by American officials on the tenth of December and has been sanctioned by multiple governments. When it was seized, it was incorrectly flying the flag of Guyana.
This interception was succeeded by the capture of a another oil vessel, the Centuries tanker. This ship – in contrast to the first vessel – was not yet under official restrictions when it was brought under US custody.
US authorities are now pursuing a third ship, which has been named by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. The US President stated recently that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the TankerTrackers group said the Bella 1 has been “underway for 39 days” and, at an average speed of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “another 28 to 35 days of diesel remaining unless her velocity drops”.
The group further stated the vessel is “probably traveling in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.
