Imagery Image Shows Initial Venezuela-Linked Oil Ship Confiscated by American Authorities is Now Off Texas.
American personnel boarding the deck of the tanker Skipper on December 10th.
Satellite imagery and ship tracking data has verified that the crude carrier Skipper – the first vessel seized by the US for reportedly transporting embargoed oil from Venezuela – is now positioned near of the state of Texas.
A satellite firm's orbital photographs from 21 December indicates the ship is in the vicinity of Galveston, while AIS ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic presently places the vessel about 80km offshore.
The Skipper was seized by American officials on 10 December and has been blacklisted by several nations. When it was intercepted, it was incorrectly flying the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This interception was followed by the capture of a another tanker, the Centuries. This ship – in contrast to the first vessel – was not yet under official restrictions when it was taken into US custody.
American agencies are currently pursuing a third such ship, which has been named by the risk management group a risk firm as the Bella 1 tanker. President Donald Trump said recently that “it will ultimately be secured”.
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 “approximately a month of fuel remaining unless her velocity drops”.
The group further stated the vessel is “probably traveling in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.