Satellite Data Reveals Initial Venezuela-Linked Oil Ship Seized by US is Now Near Texas.
American agents roped onto the vessel of the tanker Skipper on 10 December.
Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring information has confirmed that the oil tanker named Skipper – the first vessel seized by the United States for reportedly transporting sanctioned crude from the Venezuelan regime – is currently positioned near of the state of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery dated 21 December indicates the tanker is near the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking feeds from a maritime data service presently places the vessel about 50 miles offshore.
The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been sanctioned by several nations. At the time it was seized, it was falsely sailing under the ensign of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the interception of a another tanker, the Centuries tanker. This ship – in contrast to the first vessel – was not yet under sanctions when it was taken into US custody.
American agencies are currently targeting a third such vessel, which has been named by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. The US President stated yesterday that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the maritime monitoring group said the vessel Bella 1 has been “underway for 39 days” and, at an average speed of 11 knots, may have “approximately a month of fuel remaining unless her speed decreases”.
The group further stated the tanker is “likely traveling in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.