Imagery Data Shows First Venezuela-Linked Tanker Seized by American Authorities is Now Off the Texas Coast.
American personnel roped onto the deck of the tanker Skipper on December 10th.
Orbital data and ship tracking information has verified that the crude carrier Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the US for allegedly transporting embargoed crude from Venezuela – is now off the coast of the state of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery dated 21 December indicates the ship is in the vicinity of Galveston, while AIS ship-tracking feeds from a maritime data service presently places the vessel about 80km offshore.
The tanker Skipper was seized by American officials on 10 December and has been blacklisted by several nations. When it was intercepted, it was falsely flying the flag of the nation of Guyana.
This seizure was succeeded by the capture of a another tanker, the Centuries. This ship – in contrast to the Skipper – was not yet under sanctions when it was taken into US custody.
American agencies are currently pursuing a third such vessel, which has been identified by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1. The US President stated recently that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the maritime monitoring group said the Bella 1 has been “in transit for 39 days” and, at an typical pace of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “approximately a month of fuel left unless her speed decreases”.
The group further stated the tanker is “likely heading in a southeasterly direction towards South Africa”.
