Imagery Image Reveals Initial Venezuelan Tanker Confiscated by US is Currently Off Texas.
US agents roped onto the vessel of the tanker Skipper on 10 December.
Orbital data and vessel monitoring information has verified that the oil tanker Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the United States for reportedly transporting embargoed crude from Venezuela – is now positioned near of Texas.
Vantor orbital photographs from 21 December indicates the ship is near Galveston, while AIS ship-tracking feeds from MarineTraffic presently positions the vessel about 50 miles offshore.
The Skipper was taken into custody by US authorities on 10 December and has been blacklisted by multiple nations. At the time it was seized, it was incorrectly flying the flag of Guyana.
This interception was followed by the capture of a second oil vessel, the Centuries tanker. This ship – unlike the first vessel – was not yet under sanctions when it was brought under US custody.
American agencies are now pursuing a third vessel, which has been identified by the maritime risk group a risk firm as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump said yesterday that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on X, the TankerTrackers group noted the vessel Bella 1 has been “underway for over a month” and, at an typical pace of 11 knots, may have “approximately a month of diesel remaining unless her velocity drops”.
The group further stated the vessel is “likely traveling in a southeasterly direction towards South Africa”.
