Satellite Data Reveals Initial Venezuelan Tanker Confiscated by American Authorities is Currently Off the Texas Coast.
American personnel boarding the vessel of the Skipper on 10 December.
Orbital data and ship tracking information has confirmed that the oil tanker named Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the US for reportedly transporting sanctioned oil from Venezuela – is now off the coast of the state of Texas.
A satellite firm's orbital photographs dated 21 December indicates the ship is near Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking data from a maritime data service presently positions the vessel about 50 miles offshore.
The tanker Skipper was seized by American officials on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by multiple governments. When it was seized, it was incorrectly sailing under the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This interception was succeeded by the capture of a second tanker, the Centuries. This ship – in contrast to the first vessel – was not under official restrictions when it was taken into American control.
US authorities are currently pursuing a third such ship, which has been named by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump said yesterday that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on X, the maritime monitoring group said the vessel Bella 1 has been “underway for over a month” and, at an average speed of 11 knots, may have “another 28 to 35 days of diesel remaining unless her speed drops”.
The group further stated the vessel is “probably traveling south-east towards the South African coast”.
