Satellite Data Shows First Venezuelan Tanker Confiscated by American Authorities is Currently Off Texas.
US personnel boarding the deck of the tanker Skipper on 10 December.
Satellite imagery and ship tracking data has confirmed that the crude carrier named Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the US for allegedly carrying sanctioned crude from Venezuela – is now off the coast of Texas.
A satellite firm's satellite imagery dated 21 December shows the ship is near the port of Galveston, while AIS vessel-tracking feeds from MarineTraffic currently positions the vessel about 50 miles from the coast.
The Skipper was seized by US authorities on 10 December and has been blacklisted by multiple nations. When it was seized, it was incorrectly flying the flag of the nation of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the interception of a second tanker, the Centuries tanker. It – in contrast to the first vessel – was not under sanctions when it was taken into American control.
US authorities are currently targeting a third vessel, which has been identified by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. The US President stated yesterday that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the maritime monitoring group noted the Bella 1 has been “underway 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 speed decreases”.
The group added the tanker is “probably traveling in a southeasterly direction towards South Africa”.
