Imagery Data Reveals First Venezuela-Linked Tanker Confiscated by American Authorities is Now Near the Texas Coast.
US personnel roped onto the deck of the Skipper on 10 December.
Orbital data and vessel monitoring data has confirmed that the oil tanker Skipper – the first vessel seized by the US for reportedly carrying embargoed oil from the Venezuelan regime – is now off the coast of Texas.
A satellite firm's orbital photographs from 21 December indicates the ship is near Galveston, while AIS vessel-tracking data from MarineTraffic currently positions the vessel about 80km from the coast.
The Skipper was seized by American officials on the tenth of December and has been sanctioned by several nations. When it was seized, it was falsely sailing under the flag of Guyana.
This interception was followed by the interception of a second tanker, the Centuries. This ship – unlike the Skipper – was not yet under sanctions when it was brought under American control.
US authorities are currently pursuing a third ship, which has been named by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump stated yesterday that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on X, the TankerTrackers group noted the vessel Bella 1 has been “underway for 39 days” and, at an typical pace of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “another 28 to 35 days of diesel remaining unless her speed drops”.
The monitoring service added the tanker is “likely heading in a southeasterly direction towards South Africa”.
