Imagery Data Shows Initial Venezuelan Oil Ship Confiscated by US is Currently Off the Texas Coast.
American agents roped onto the vessel of the Skipper on December 10th.
Orbital data and ship tracking data has verified that the crude carrier Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the United States for reportedly carrying sanctioned crude from the Venezuelan regime – is now positioned near of the state of Texas.
A satellite firm's satellite imagery dated 21 December shows the ship is in the vicinity of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking feeds from a maritime data service presently places the Skipper about 80km offshore.
The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by American officials on 10 December and has been sanctioned by several governments. When it was seized, it was falsely sailing under the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the capture of a another oil vessel, the Centuries tanker. This ship – unlike the first vessel – was not under official restrictions when it was brought under American control.
American agencies are currently targeting a third such ship, which has been identified by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1. The US President said yesterday that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the maritime monitoring group noted the vessel Bella 1 has been “in transit for over a month” and, at an typical pace of 11 knots, may have “another 28 to 35 days of fuel remaining unless her velocity decreases”.
The group further stated the tanker is “probably heading in a southeasterly direction towards South Africa”.