Satellite Data Shows First Venezuelan Oil Ship Confiscated by US is Now Near the Texas Coast.
American personnel roped onto the deck of the tanker Skipper on 10 December.
Satellite imagery and ship tracking information has confirmed that the oil tanker named Skipper – the initial vessel seized by the United States for reportedly carrying sanctioned oil from Venezuela – is now positioned near of the state of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery dated 21 December shows the ship is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking feeds from a maritime data service currently positions the Skipper about 50 miles from the coast.
The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by American officials on 10 December and has been sanctioned by multiple nations. At the time it was intercepted, it was incorrectly flying the ensign of Guyana.
This interception was succeeded by the capture of a another tanker, the Centuries tanker. It – unlike the Skipper – was not under sanctions when it was brought under American control.
US authorities are now pursuing a third such ship, which has been identified by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump said recently that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the maritime monitoring group said the vessel Bella 1 has been “in transit for over a month” and, at an average speed of 11 knots, may have “another 28 to 35 days of fuel left unless her velocity drops”.
The group added the tanker is “likely traveling south-east towards South Africa”.
