Satellite Data Reveals First Venezuelan Oil Ship Confiscated by American Authorities is Currently Near the Texas Coast.
American agents roped onto the vessel of the tanker Skipper on 10 December.
Satellite imagery and ship tracking information has verified that the crude carrier Skipper – the first vessel seized by the United States for reportedly transporting embargoed crude from Venezuela – is currently off the coast of the state of Texas.
A satellite firm's satellite imagery from 21 December indicates the ship is near the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking feeds from MarineTraffic currently positions the vessel about 50 miles offshore.
The Skipper was seized by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by several governments. When it was intercepted, it was falsely flying the flag of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the capture of a second oil vessel, the Centuries. It – in contrast to the first vessel – was not yet under sanctions when it was taken into American control.
American agencies are now pursuing a third ship, which has been identified by the risk management group a risk firm as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump said yesterday that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the maritime monitoring group noted the vessel Bella 1 has been “in transit for 39 days” and, at an average speed of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “approximately a month of diesel remaining unless her speed decreases”.
The monitoring service further stated the tanker is “likely heading south-east towards South Africa”.