Imagery Image Shows First Venezuela-Linked Tanker Seized by American Authorities is Currently Near Texas.
US agents boarding the vessel of the tanker Skipper on 10 December.
Satellite imagery and ship tracking data has verified that the crude carrier named Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the United States for allegedly carrying sanctioned crude from Venezuela – is now off the coast of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery dated 21 December indicates the tanker is near the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking feeds from a maritime data service presently positions the vessel about 50 miles from the coast.
The tanker Skipper was seized by US authorities on 10 December and has been sanctioned by multiple nations. At the time it was intercepted, it was incorrectly flying the flag of Guyana.
This interception was followed by the capture of a another tanker, the Centuries. It – in contrast to the Skipper – was not under sanctions when it was brought under American control.
US authorities are now targeting a third such ship, which has been named by the risk management group a risk firm as the Bella 1 tanker. President Donald Trump said yesterday that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the maritime monitoring group said the vessel Bella 1 has been “in transit for 39 days” and, at an typical pace of 11 knots, may have “another 28 to 35 days of diesel left unless her velocity drops”.
The group further stated the tanker is “likely traveling south-east towards South Africa”.