Satellite Image Reveals First Venezuelan Oil Ship Confiscated by American Authorities is Now Off the Texas Coast.
American personnel roped onto the deck of the tanker Skipper on December 10th.
Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring information has verified that the crude carrier Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the United States for allegedly carrying embargoed oil from the Venezuelan regime – is now off the coast of the state of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery dated 21 December shows the tanker is in the vicinity of Galveston, while AIS ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic currently places the vessel about 50 miles offshore.
The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by US authorities on 10 December and has been blacklisted by several governments. When it was seized, it was incorrectly flying the ensign of Guyana.
This interception was succeeded by the capture of a another tanker, the Centuries. It – unlike the first vessel – was not yet under official restrictions when it was brought under US custody.
American agencies are currently targeting a third such ship, which has been named by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump said recently that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the maritime monitoring group said the vessel Bella 1 has been “underway for 39 days” and, at an typical pace of 11 knots, may have “another 28 to 35 days of diesel left unless her velocity decreases”.
The group further stated the tanker is “probably traveling in a southeasterly direction towards South Africa”.
