Imagery Data Shows First Venezuela-Linked Tanker Confiscated by American Authorities is Currently Off the Texas Coast.
American personnel roped onto the vessel of the Skipper on 10 December.
Satellite imagery and ship tracking data has verified that the crude carrier named Skipper – the initial vessel seized by the US for allegedly transporting embargoed crude from the Venezuelan regime – is currently positioned near of the state of Texas.
Vantor orbital photographs from 21 December shows the ship is in the vicinity of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking feeds from MarineTraffic presently positions the Skipper about 50 miles from the coast.
The Skipper was seized by American officials on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by several nations. When it was intercepted, it was falsely sailing under the flag of the nation of Guyana.
This interception was succeeded by the interception of a second tanker, the Centuries tanker. This ship – unlike the Skipper – was not yet under official restrictions when it was brought under American control.
US authorities are currently pursuing a third vessel, which has been identified by the maritime risk group a risk firm as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump said recently that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on X, the TankerTrackers group said the vessel Bella 1 has been “in transit for over a month” and, at an typical pace of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “another 28 to 35 days of fuel left unless her velocity drops”.
The group added the tanker is “probably heading south-east towards South Africa”.
