Satellite Data Reveals Initial Venezuela-Linked Oil Ship Seized by American Authorities is Currently Off Texas.
American personnel boarding the vessel of the tanker Skipper on December 10th.
Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring data has verified that the crude carrier named Skipper – the first vessel seized by the United States for allegedly transporting sanctioned crude from the Venezuelan regime – is now off the coast of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery from 21 December shows the tanker is in the vicinity of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking feeds from a maritime data service presently positions the vessel about 50 miles offshore.
The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been sanctioned by several governments. When it was seized, it was incorrectly sailing under the ensign of Guyana.
This interception was succeeded by the interception of a second tanker, the Centuries tanker. This ship – in contrast to the first vessel – was not yet under sanctions when it was taken into US custody.
US authorities are currently pursuing a third such ship, which has been identified by the risk management group a risk firm as the Bella 1 tanker. The US President stated recently that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on X, the maritime monitoring group said the vessel Bella 1 has been “underway for over a month” and, at an typical pace of 11 knots, may have “another 28 to 35 days of diesel left unless her speed decreases”.
The monitoring service further stated the vessel is “probably traveling in a southeasterly direction towards South Africa”.
