Satellite Data Reveals Initial Venezuelan Oil Ship Seized by American Authorities is Currently Near the Texas Coast.
American agents roped onto the vessel of the tanker Skipper on December 10th.
Satellite imagery and ship tracking data has verified that the crude carrier Skipper – the first vessel seized by the United States for allegedly transporting embargoed crude from the Venezuelan regime – is now off the coast of the state of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery dated 21 December shows the ship is near Galveston, while AIS ship-tracking data from a maritime data service presently places 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 nations. When it was intercepted, it was falsely sailing under the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This interception was succeeded by the interception of a second oil vessel, the Centuries tanker. This ship – unlike the Skipper – was not under sanctions when it was brought under American control.
American agencies are currently pursuing a third such ship, which has been identified by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump 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 39 days” and, at an average speed of 11 knots, may have “approximately a month of diesel remaining unless her velocity drops”.
The group further stated the vessel is “probably heading in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.
