Satellite Data Reveals Initial Venezuelan Oil Ship Confiscated by US is Currently Off Texas.
American personnel roped onto the deck of the Skipper on 10 December.
Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring information has confirmed that the oil tanker Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the United States for allegedly transporting sanctioned crude from Venezuela – is now positioned near of Texas.
A satellite firm's satellite imagery from 21 December shows the ship is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking data from MarineTraffic currently positions the Skipper about 80km offshore.
The tanker Skipper was seized by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been sanctioned by multiple governments. When it was intercepted, it was incorrectly flying the ensign of Guyana.
This seizure was succeeded by the interception of a another tanker, the Centuries. It – in contrast to the Skipper – was not yet under official restrictions when it was taken into American control.
US authorities are currently pursuing a third vessel, which has been named by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. The US President said yesterday that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on X, the maritime monitoring group noted the Bella 1 has been “in transit for over a month” and, at an typical pace of 11 knots, may have “approximately a month of diesel left unless her velocity drops”.
The group further stated the tanker is “probably heading south-east towards South Africa”.
