Satellite Image Reveals First Venezuelan Oil Ship Confiscated by US is Now Near Texas.
US personnel roped onto the vessel of the Skipper on December 10th.
Orbital data and vessel monitoring information has verified that the crude carrier Skipper – the first vessel seized by the US for allegedly transporting sanctioned crude from the Venezuelan regime – is currently off the coast of Texas.
Vantor orbital photographs dated 21 December indicates the ship is in the vicinity of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic currently positions the Skipper about 80km offshore.
The Skipper was taken into custody by American officials on 10 December and has been sanctioned by multiple governments. When it was intercepted, it was falsely sailing under the flag of the nation of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the interception of a another oil vessel, the Centuries tanker. This ship – unlike the Skipper – was not under sanctions when it was taken into US custody.
American agencies are now pursuing a third vessel, which has been identified by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump said yesterday that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on X, the maritime monitoring group said the Bella 1 has been “underway for over a month” and, at an average speed of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “approximately a month of fuel left unless her velocity decreases”.
The group further stated the tanker is “likely heading in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.
