Satellite Data Shows Initial Venezuela-Linked Oil Ship Confiscated by US is Now Off the Texas Coast.
American personnel boarding the vessel of the Skipper on December 10th.
Orbital data and vessel monitoring information has verified that the crude carrier Skipper – the initial vessel seized by the United States for allegedly carrying embargoed crude from Venezuela – is currently positioned near of Texas.
A satellite firm's orbital photographs dated 21 December shows the ship is in the vicinity of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking feeds from MarineTraffic presently positions the vessel about 80km offshore.
The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by American officials on 10 December and has been sanctioned by multiple nations. When it was intercepted, it was incorrectly sailing under the ensign of Guyana.
This interception was followed by the interception of a another oil vessel, the Centuries. This ship – in contrast to the first vessel – was not under official restrictions when it was brought under American control.
American agencies are now targeting a third ship, which has been identified by the maritime risk group a risk firm as the Bella 1 tanker. President Donald Trump said yesterday that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the TankerTrackers group said the Bella 1 has been “in transit for over a month” and, at an typical pace of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “another 28 to 35 days of diesel remaining unless her velocity decreases”.
The monitoring service added the tanker is “likely heading in a southeasterly direction towards South Africa”.
