Satellite Data Shows First Venezuela-Linked Oil Ship Confiscated by American Authorities is Currently Near the Texas Coast.
US personnel roped onto the deck of the tanker Skipper on December 10th.
Satellite imagery and ship tracking information has confirmed that the crude carrier Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the US for allegedly carrying embargoed oil from Venezuela – is now positioned near of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery from 21 December indicates the ship is near the port of Galveston, while AIS vessel-tracking data from a maritime data service currently positions the Skipper about 80km offshore.
The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been sanctioned by several governments. At the time it was seized, it was incorrectly flying the ensign of Guyana.
This seizure was succeeded by the capture of a second oil vessel, the Centuries tanker. It – in contrast to the first vessel – was not yet under sanctions when it was taken into US custody.
US authorities are currently pursuing a third such ship, which has been identified by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. The US President stated yesterday that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on X, the TankerTrackers group noted the Bella 1 has been “underway for 39 days” and, at an average speed of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “approximately a month of fuel left unless her speed drops”.
The monitoring service added the tanker is “probably heading south-east towards the South African coast”.