Satellite Image Shows First Venezuelan Tanker Confiscated by US is Now Near Texas.
US personnel roped onto the vessel of the Skipper on 10 December.
Orbital data and vessel monitoring data has confirmed that the crude carrier named Skipper – the first vessel seized by the US for allegedly transporting embargoed crude from the Venezuelan regime – is now positioned near of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery from 21 December shows the ship is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while AIS vessel-tracking data from a maritime data service currently positions the Skipper about 80km from the coast.
The Skipper was seized by US authorities on 10 December and has been blacklisted by several nations. At the time it was seized, it was falsely flying the flag of the nation of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the capture of a another tanker, the Centuries tanker. It – in contrast to the first vessel – was not under official restrictions when it was taken into US custody.
US authorities are currently pursuing a third ship, which has been identified by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump stated recently that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the TankerTrackers group said the vessel Bella 1 has been “in transit for over a month” and, at an typical pace of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “approximately a month of diesel remaining unless her velocity decreases”.
The group further stated the tanker is “likely traveling in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.
