Imagery Image Shows First Venezuela-Linked Tanker Confiscated by US is Now Near the Texas Coast.
US agents boarding the vessel of the tanker Skipper on 10 December.
Orbital data and ship tracking data has verified that the crude carrier Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the United States for allegedly transporting embargoed crude from the Venezuelan regime – is currently off the coast of the state of Texas.
A satellite firm's satellite imagery from 21 December shows the tanker is in the vicinity of Galveston, while AIS ship-tracking data from a maritime data service presently positions the Skipper about 80km offshore.
The Skipper was seized by American officials on 10 December and has been blacklisted by multiple nations. When it was intercepted, it was incorrectly flying the ensign of Guyana.
This interception was succeeded by the interception of a second tanker, the Centuries tanker. It – unlike the first vessel – was not under sanctions when it was brought under American control.
American agencies are now pursuing a third such vessel, which has been named by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. President Donald Trump stated yesterday that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on X, the TankerTrackers group said 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 speed drops”.
The group added the tanker is “likely heading south-east towards South Africa”.
