Imagery Image Shows Initial Venezuela-Linked Oil Ship Confiscated by US is Currently Off the Texas Coast.
US personnel roped onto the deck of the Skipper on 10 December.
Orbital data and ship tracking data has confirmed that the crude carrier Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the US for reportedly carrying sanctioned oil from Venezuela – is now positioned near of Texas.
A satellite firm's satellite imagery dated 21 December indicates the tanker is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while AIS ship-tracking feeds from MarineTraffic presently places the vessel about 50 miles offshore.
The Skipper was seized by US authorities on 10 December and has been blacklisted by multiple governments. When it was seized, it was incorrectly flying the ensign of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the capture of a another tanker, the Centuries tanker. It – unlike the first vessel – was not yet under sanctions when it was taken into American control.
American agencies are currently targeting a third such vessel, which has been named by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1. The US President said recently that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the maritime monitoring group noted the Bella 1 has been “in transit for over a month” and, at an typical pace of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “another 28 to 35 days of fuel remaining unless her speed drops”.
The monitoring service further stated the vessel is “likely heading south-east towards South Africa”.
