Imagery Image Reveals First Venezuelan Oil Ship Confiscated by American Authorities is Currently Off the Texas Coast.
US agents roped onto the deck of the Skipper on December 10th.
Satellite imagery and ship tracking data has confirmed that the oil tanker named Skipper – the initial vessel seized by the US for reportedly carrying embargoed oil from Venezuela – is now off the coast of the state of Texas.
Vantor orbital photographs dated 21 December shows the ship is near Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking data from a maritime data service currently positions the Skipper about 50 miles from the coast.
The tanker Skipper was seized by American officials on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by several governments. At the time it was seized, it was falsely sailing under the ensign of Guyana.
This seizure was succeeded by the capture of a second oil vessel, the Centuries. This ship – in contrast to the first vessel – was not under sanctions when it was brought under American control.
American agencies are currently targeting a third ship, which has been named by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump stated recently that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the TankerTrackers group said the vessel Bella 1 has been “underway for 39 days” and, at an average speed of 11 knots, may have “another 28 to 35 days of fuel remaining unless her speed drops”.
The group added the tanker is “probably traveling south-east towards the South African coast”.
