Imagery Data Reveals First Venezuelan Oil Ship Seized by American Authorities is Now Off Texas.
US agents roped onto the vessel of the Skipper on 10 December.
Satellite imagery and ship tracking data has confirmed that the oil tanker Skipper – the first vessel seized by the US for reportedly carrying sanctioned oil from the Venezuelan regime – is currently off the coast of the state of Texas.
Vantor orbital photographs from 21 December shows the ship is in the vicinity of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking feeds from a maritime data service presently positions the Skipper about 80km offshore.
The Skipper was seized by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been sanctioned by several governments. When it was seized, it was falsely flying the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the capture of a another tanker, the Centuries tanker. This ship – unlike the Skipper – was not under sanctions when it was taken into US custody.
US authorities are now targeting a third vessel, which has been named by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. President Donald Trump said yesterday that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the maritime monitoring group said the Bella 1 has been “in transit for 39 days” and, at an average speed of 11 knots, may have “another 28 to 35 days of diesel remaining unless her velocity drops”.
The group added the vessel is “likely traveling south-east towards South Africa”.