Imagery Image Reveals First Venezuela-Linked Oil Ship Seized by American Authorities is Now Near the Texas Coast.
US agents roped onto the vessel of the Skipper on December 10th.
Orbital data and ship tracking information has verified that the crude carrier Skipper – the initial vessel seized by the US for reportedly carrying sanctioned oil from Venezuela – is currently off the coast of Texas.
Vantor orbital photographs from 21 December shows the tanker is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while AIS vessel-tracking feeds from a maritime data service presently positions the Skipper about 50 miles offshore.
The Skipper was taken into custody by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been sanctioned by several nations. At the time it was seized, it was falsely sailing under the flag of the nation 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 taken into American control.
US authorities are currently pursuing a third vessel, which has been named by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. The US President said yesterday that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the TankerTrackers group noted the Bella 1 has been “underway for over a month” and, at an average speed of 11 knots, may have “another 28 to 35 days of fuel remaining unless her velocity drops”.
The group added the tanker is “probably heading south-east towards the South African coast”.
