Satellite Image Reveals Initial Venezuelan Oil Ship Seized by American Authorities is Currently Off the Texas Coast.
American agents boarding the deck of the Skipper on December 10th.
Orbital data and vessel monitoring data has verified that the crude carrier Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the United States for allegedly carrying sanctioned crude from Venezuela – is currently off the coast of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery from 21 December indicates the tanker is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking data from MarineTraffic presently positions the Skipper about 80km offshore.
The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by American officials on 10 December and has been sanctioned by multiple governments. When it was seized, it was falsely flying the flag of Guyana.
This interception was succeeded by the interception of a another tanker, the Centuries tanker. This ship – unlike the first vessel – was not yet under official restrictions when it was brought under US custody.
US authorities are currently pursuing a third such ship, which has been named by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1. The US President stated yesterday that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on X, the TankerTrackers group said the Bella 1 has been “in transit for 39 days” and, at an average speed of 11 knots, may have “another 28 to 35 days of diesel left unless her speed drops”.
The monitoring service further stated the tanker is “probably traveling south-east towards South Africa”.
