Imagery Data Shows First Venezuelan Tanker Seized by US is Currently Off Texas.
US personnel boarding the deck of the Skipper on December 10th.
Orbital data and vessel monitoring information has verified that the crude carrier named Skipper – the first vessel seized by the US for reportedly transporting embargoed crude from Venezuela – is now off the coast of Texas.
A satellite firm's orbital photographs from 21 December shows the tanker is near Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking feeds from MarineTraffic currently places the vessel about 80km from the coast.
The tanker Skipper was seized by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been sanctioned by multiple governments. At the time it was intercepted, it was falsely flying the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This interception was followed by the capture of a second tanker, the Centuries. It – in contrast to the first vessel – was not yet under sanctions when it was brought under US custody.
American agencies are currently targeting a third such ship, which has been named by the maritime risk group a risk firm as the Bella 1 tanker. President Donald Trump said recently that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on X, the maritime monitoring group said the Bella 1 has been “in transit for 39 days” and, at an typical pace of 11 knots, may have “approximately a month of diesel left unless her speed decreases”.
The group further stated the tanker is “probably heading south-east towards South Africa”.
