Satellite Image Reveals First Venezuelan Oil Ship Confiscated by US is Now Off Texas.
US personnel roped onto the deck of the Skipper on 10 December.
Orbital data and vessel monitoring data has confirmed that the oil tanker Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the United States for allegedly carrying embargoed crude from Venezuela – is currently positioned near of Texas.
A satellite firm's satellite imagery from 21 December indicates the ship is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while AIS vessel-tracking feeds from MarineTraffic currently positions the vessel about 50 miles offshore.
The Skipper was taken into custody by American officials on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by multiple governments. At the time it was seized, it was incorrectly sailing under the flag of Guyana.
This seizure was succeeded by the interception of a another tanker, the Centuries. It – unlike the Skipper – was not under official restrictions when it was taken into US custody.
US authorities are now targeting a third such vessel, which has been named by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1. The US President stated recently that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the maritime monitoring group noted the Bella 1 has been “underway for 39 days” and, at an average speed of 11 knots, may have “approximately a month of fuel left unless her speed decreases”.
The group added the vessel is “probably heading in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.
