Imagery Image Reveals First Venezuelan Oil Ship Seized by US is Currently Near the Texas Coast.
American personnel roped onto the vessel of the Skipper on 10 December.
Satellite imagery and ship tracking information has verified that the oil tanker Skipper – the first vessel seized 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 indicates the tanker is near the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking data from MarineTraffic presently places the vessel about 50 miles offshore.
The tanker Skipper was seized by American officials on 10 December and has been sanctioned by several nations. At the time it was intercepted, it was incorrectly sailing under the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the interception of a second tanker, the Centuries tanker. It – unlike the Skipper – was not under sanctions when it was taken into American control.
American agencies are now pursuing a third vessel, which has been identified by the risk management 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 TankerTrackers group said the Bella 1 has been “in transit for 39 days” and, at an average speed of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “approximately a month of diesel remaining unless her speed decreases”.
The group further stated the tanker is “likely heading south-east towards South Africa”.