Imagery Data Shows Initial Venezuelan Tanker Seized by American Authorities is Currently Off Texas.
American personnel boarding the deck of the tanker Skipper on December 10th.
Satellite imagery and ship tracking data has verified that the oil tanker named Skipper – the initial vessel seized by the United States for allegedly transporting embargoed oil from Venezuela – is now off the coast of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery dated 21 December indicates the ship is near Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic currently positions the Skipper about 80km offshore.
The Skipper was seized by American officials on 10 December and has been sanctioned by several nations. At the time it was seized, it was incorrectly flying the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the interception of a second oil vessel, the Centuries. This ship – unlike the Skipper – was not under sanctions when it was brought under US custody.
American agencies are now targeting a third vessel, which has been identified by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump said yesterday that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the TankerTrackers group said the Bella 1 has been “in transit for 39 days” and, at an typical pace of 11 knots, may have “another 28 to 35 days of fuel remaining unless her speed drops”.
The monitoring service added the tanker is “probably heading in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.
