Satellite Image Shows First Venezuelan Oil Ship Confiscated by American Authorities is Currently Off the Texas Coast.
American personnel roped onto the vessel of the tanker Skipper on December 10th.
Orbital data and ship tracking data has verified that the crude carrier Skipper – the first vessel seized by the US for reportedly carrying sanctioned crude from Venezuela – is now positioned near of the state of Texas.
A satellite firm's orbital photographs dated 21 December indicates the ship is near Galveston, while AIS vessel-tracking feeds from MarineTraffic presently positions the vessel about 80km from the coast.
The Skipper was taken into custody by American officials on 10 December and has been sanctioned by several nations. At the time it was seized, it was incorrectly flying the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This seizure was succeeded by the interception of a another tanker, the Centuries. This ship – unlike the Skipper – was not yet under official restrictions when it was taken into American control.
US authorities are currently pursuing a third vessel, which has been named 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 the social media platform X, the maritime monitoring group noted the vessel Bella 1 has been “in transit for 39 days” and, at an typical pace of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “approximately a month of fuel remaining unless her velocity drops”.
The group added the vessel is “likely heading in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.
