Satellite Data Reveals First Venezuela-Linked Oil Ship Confiscated by American Authorities is Currently Off Texas.
US personnel boarding the vessel of the Skipper on December 10th.
Orbital data and ship tracking information has confirmed that the oil tanker Skipper – the initial vessel seized by the United States for allegedly carrying sanctioned oil from Venezuela – is now positioned near of the state of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery dated 21 December indicates the tanker is in the vicinity of Galveston, while AIS ship-tracking feeds from a maritime data service currently positions the Skipper about 80km from the coast.
The Skipper was seized by US authorities on 10 December and has been sanctioned 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 another tanker, the Centuries tanker. It – unlike the first vessel – was not yet under sanctions when it was brought under US custody.
American agencies are currently pursuing a third ship, which has been identified by the maritime risk group a risk firm as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump stated yesterday that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on X, the maritime monitoring group said the 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 fuel remaining unless her velocity decreases”.
The group further stated the tanker is “probably heading in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.
