Satellite Data Shows First Venezuelan Tanker Seized by American Authorities is Currently Off Texas.
American personnel roped onto the deck of the Skipper on December 10th.
Satellite imagery and ship tracking information has confirmed that the oil tanker Skipper – the first vessel seized by the United States for reportedly carrying embargoed oil from the Venezuelan regime – is currently off the coast of the state of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery from 21 December shows the tanker is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking feeds from a maritime data service presently positions the Skipper about 50 miles from the coast.
The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by US authorities on 10 December and has been blacklisted by several nations. At the time it was intercepted, it was falsely sailing under the flag of Guyana.
This interception was followed by the interception of a second oil vessel, the Centuries tanker. This ship – in contrast to the first vessel – was not under sanctions when it was taken into US custody.
US authorities are currently targeting a third vessel, which has been identified by the risk management group a risk firm as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump stated recently that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on X, the TankerTrackers group noted the vessel Bella 1 has been “in transit for 39 days” and, at an typical pace of 11 knots, may have “approximately a month of diesel left unless her speed drops”.
The monitoring service further stated the vessel is “likely traveling south-east towards South Africa”.
