Satellite Data Reveals Initial Venezuelan Oil Ship Seized by US is Now Near the Texas Coast.
American personnel roped onto the deck of the tanker Skipper on 10 December.
Satellite imagery and ship tracking information has confirmed that the oil tanker Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the US for allegedly carrying embargoed oil from the Venezuelan regime – is now off the coast of the state of Texas.
A satellite firm's satellite imagery dated 21 December shows the ship is near the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic currently positions the vessel about 80km from the coast.
The Skipper was taken into custody by American officials on 10 December and has been sanctioned by several nations. When it was seized, it was incorrectly sailing under the flag of the nation of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the interception of a another oil vessel, the Centuries tanker. It – in contrast to the Skipper – was not yet under official restrictions when it was brought under US custody.
US authorities are now pursuing a third ship, which has been named by the risk management group a risk firm as the Bella 1 tanker. The US President stated yesterday that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on X, the maritime monitoring group noted the vessel Bella 1 has been “underway for over a month” and, at an typical pace of 11 knots, may have “approximately a month of diesel left unless her velocity drops”.
The group added the vessel is “probably traveling south-east towards South Africa”.
