Satellite Image Shows First Venezuelan Oil Ship Confiscated by US is Currently Near Texas.
American agents roped onto the deck of the tanker Skipper on December 10th.
Orbital data and ship tracking information has confirmed that the oil tanker Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the US for reportedly transporting embargoed oil from Venezuela – is currently off the coast of the state of Texas.
A satellite firm's orbital photographs dated 21 December indicates the ship is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while AIS ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic currently places the vessel about 50 miles from the coast.
The Skipper was taken into custody by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by multiple governments. When it was intercepted, it was falsely flying the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This interception was followed by the interception of a another tanker, the Centuries. This ship – in contrast to the first vessel – was not yet under official restrictions when it was taken into American control.
American agencies are now targeting a third such ship, which has been identified by the maritime risk group a risk firm as the Bella 1 tanker. President Donald Trump stated recently that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on X, the TankerTrackers group noted the vessel Bella 1 has been “underway for 39 days” and, at an typical pace of 11 knots, may have “approximately a month of fuel remaining unless her velocity decreases”.
The monitoring service further stated the tanker is “probably heading in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.
