Imagery Data Reveals Initial Venezuela-Linked Oil Ship Seized by American Authorities is Currently Near the Texas Coast.
American personnel roped onto the deck of the Skipper on 10 December.
Satellite imagery and ship tracking information has verified that the oil tanker named Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the United States for reportedly transporting sanctioned oil from Venezuela – is currently off the coast of Texas.
Vantor orbital photographs from 21 December indicates the ship is near Galveston, while AIS ship-tracking feeds from a maritime data service currently positions the vessel about 50 miles from the coast.
The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by US authorities on 10 December and has been blacklisted by several governments. At the time it was intercepted, it was falsely sailing under the flag of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the capture of a second tanker, the Centuries. This ship – in contrast to the first vessel – was not yet under official restrictions when it was brought under American control.
US authorities are now pursuing a third vessel, which has been identified by the maritime risk group a risk firm as the Bella 1 tanker. The US President stated recently that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the TankerTrackers group said the vessel Bella 1 has been “underway for over a month” and, at an average speed of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “another 28 to 35 days of fuel left unless her speed decreases”.
The monitoring service further stated the tanker is “likely heading south-east towards South Africa”.
