Satellite Data Reveals First Venezuelan Oil Ship Seized by US is Currently Near the Texas Coast.
American agents boarding the deck of the Skipper on December 10th.
Orbital data and ship tracking data has confirmed that the oil tanker Skipper – the initial vessel seized by the US for reportedly carrying sanctioned crude from Venezuela – is now off the coast of the state of Texas.
Vantor orbital photographs from 21 December shows the tanker is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while AIS vessel-tracking data from a maritime data service presently positions the vessel about 80km from the coast.
The Skipper was seized by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been sanctioned by several governments. At the time it was seized, it was incorrectly flying the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This interception was succeeded by the capture of a second tanker, the Centuries. It – in contrast to the first vessel – was not under sanctions when it was taken into US custody.
American agencies are now targeting a third such ship, which has been identified by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. President Donald Trump said recently that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on X, the TankerTrackers group noted the Bella 1 has been “in transit for 39 days” and, at an typical pace of 11 knots, may have “approximately a month of fuel left unless her speed decreases”.
The monitoring service further stated the tanker is “likely traveling south-east towards South Africa”.
