Satellite Data Shows Initial Venezuelan Tanker Confiscated by US is Now Off the Texas Coast.
US personnel boarding the vessel of the tanker Skipper on December 10th.
Orbital data and ship tracking information has verified that the crude carrier named Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the United States for allegedly transporting sanctioned oil from the Venezuelan regime – is now off the coast of the state of Texas.
A satellite firm's orbital photographs from 21 December shows the ship is in the vicinity of Galveston, while AIS vessel-tracking data from MarineTraffic presently places the vessel about 50 miles offshore.
The Skipper was seized by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been sanctioned by multiple nations. At the time it was intercepted, it was incorrectly flying the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This interception was followed by the capture of a second oil vessel, the Centuries. This ship – unlike the first vessel – was not under sanctions when it was brought under US custody.
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 maritime monitoring group said the Bella 1 has been “underway 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 monitoring service further stated the tanker is “probably traveling in a southeasterly direction towards South Africa”.
