Imagery Data Reveals Initial Venezuela-Linked Tanker Seized by US is Currently Near Texas.
American personnel boarding the vessel of the tanker Skipper on December 10th.
Orbital data and vessel monitoring information has confirmed that the crude carrier Skipper – the first vessel seized by the US for reportedly transporting embargoed crude from the Venezuelan regime – is currently off the coast of Texas.
A satellite firm's satellite imagery from 21 December indicates the tanker is near the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking feeds from a maritime data service presently positions the vessel about 80km from the coast.
The Skipper was taken into custody by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by multiple nations. At the time it was seized, it was falsely flying the ensign of Guyana.
This seizure was succeeded by the interception of a another oil vessel, the Centuries tanker. It – unlike the first vessel – was not under sanctions when it was brought under American control.
American agencies are currently pursuing a third such ship, which has been named by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. President Donald Trump stated yesterday that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the TankerTrackers group said the Bella 1 has been “in transit for 39 days” and, at an typical pace of 11 knots, may have “approximately a month of diesel remaining unless her speed decreases”.
The group added the vessel is “likely heading south-east towards the South African coast”.
