Satellite Data Shows First Venezuelan Oil Ship Seized by American Authorities is Currently Near the Texas Coast.
American agents roped onto the vessel of the Skipper on 10 December.
Orbital data and vessel monitoring information has confirmed that the crude carrier named Skipper – the first vessel seized by the United States for reportedly transporting embargoed crude from the Venezuelan regime – is now positioned near of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery dated 21 December indicates the tanker is near the port of Galveston, while AIS ship-tracking feeds from MarineTraffic currently places the Skipper about 80km offshore.
The tanker Skipper was seized by US authorities on 10 December and has been blacklisted by several governments. At the time it was seized, it was falsely sailing under the flag of Guyana.
This seizure was succeeded by the interception of a another tanker, the Centuries. It – in contrast to the first vessel – was not under official restrictions when it was brought under US custody.
American agencies are now targeting a third ship, which has been identified by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. The US President said yesterday that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on X, the maritime monitoring group said the vessel Bella 1 has been “in transit for over a month” and, at an average speed of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “approximately a month of diesel left unless her velocity decreases”.
The group further stated the vessel is “probably traveling south-east towards South Africa”.
