Imagery Image Shows First Venezuelan Oil Ship Confiscated by US is Now Near Texas.
American personnel roped onto the vessel of the Skipper on December 10th.
Orbital data and ship tracking data has verified that the oil tanker named Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the US for reportedly transporting sanctioned crude from Venezuela – is now off the coast of Texas.
A satellite firm's satellite imagery from 21 December indicates the tanker is near Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking feeds from a maritime data service currently places the vessel about 80km from the coast.
The Skipper was taken into custody by American officials on 10 December and has been sanctioned by multiple governments. When it was intercepted, it was falsely sailing under the flag of the nation of Guyana.
This seizure was succeeded by the capture of a second oil vessel, the Centuries. It – unlike the first vessel – was not under official restrictions when it was taken into US custody.
US authorities are currently pursuing a third such ship, which has been identified by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. The US President stated recently that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the maritime monitoring group noted the vessel Bella 1 has been “in transit for over a month” and, at an average speed of 11 knots, may have “approximately a month of diesel left unless her velocity drops”.
The group further stated the tanker is “likely traveling south-east towards the South African coast”.
