Satellite Data Reveals First Venezuelan Oil Ship Confiscated by American Authorities is Currently Near the Texas Coast.
American agents roped onto the deck of the tanker Skipper on 10 December.
Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring information has verified that the crude carrier named Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the US for reportedly carrying sanctioned oil from the Venezuelan regime – is now positioned near of the state of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery from 21 December shows the ship is near the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking data from a maritime data service presently places the vessel about 80km from the coast.
The tanker Skipper was seized by US authorities on 10 December and has been sanctioned by multiple nations. When it was intercepted, it was incorrectly flying the ensign of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the capture of a second oil vessel, the Centuries. This ship – in contrast to the Skipper – was not yet under official restrictions when it was taken into US custody.
American agencies are now targeting a third vessel, which has been identified by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. President Donald Trump stated yesterday that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the maritime monitoring group said the vessel Bella 1 has been “underway for 39 days” and, at an typical pace of 11 knots, may have “another 28 to 35 days of diesel remaining unless her velocity decreases”.
The monitoring service added the tanker is “probably traveling south-east towards the South African coast”.
