Imagery Data Reveals First Venezuela-Linked Tanker Confiscated by US is Now Near the Texas Coast.
American agents roped onto the vessel of the Skipper on December 10th.
Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring data has verified that the crude carrier Skipper – the initial vessel seized by the US for reportedly carrying embargoed crude from the Venezuelan regime – is now off the coast of the state of Texas.
A satellite firm's orbital photographs dated 21 December indicates the ship is near the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic presently places the vessel about 80km from the coast.
The Skipper was seized by American officials on 10 December and has been sanctioned by several governments. When it was intercepted, it was falsely sailing under the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the interception of a another tanker, the Centuries. It – unlike the Skipper – was not yet under official restrictions when it was taken into American control.
US authorities are now pursuing a third such ship, which has been identified by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump stated recently that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the maritime monitoring group noted the vessel Bella 1 has been “underway 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 speed drops”.
The monitoring service added the vessel is “probably traveling in a southeasterly direction towards South Africa”.
