Satellite Image Reveals First Venezuelan Tanker Seized by US is Currently Off the Texas Coast.
American personnel boarding the deck of the Skipper on December 10th.
Satellite imagery and ship tracking data has verified that the crude carrier Skipper – the initial vessel seized by the United States for reportedly carrying embargoed oil from the Venezuelan regime – is currently positioned near of the state of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery from 21 December shows the ship is near Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking feeds from a maritime data service currently places the Skipper about 80km offshore.
The Skipper was taken into custody by US authorities on 10 December and has been sanctioned by multiple governments. At the time it was seized, it was incorrectly flying the flag of Guyana.
This seizure was succeeded by the interception of a another oil vessel, the Centuries. This ship – in contrast to the Skipper – was not yet under sanctions when it was taken into American control.
American agencies are now pursuing a third such ship, which has been identified by the risk management group a risk firm as the Bella 1 tanker. The US President said yesterday that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the TankerTrackers group noted the Bella 1 has been “underway for over a month” and, at an average speed of 11 knots, may have “approximately a month of diesel left unless her velocity drops”.
The monitoring service further stated the tanker is “likely traveling in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.