Imagery Data Shows First Venezuelan Oil Ship Seized by US is Currently Near Texas.
American agents roped onto the vessel of the tanker Skipper on 10 December.
Orbital data and ship tracking information has verified that the crude carrier named Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the US for reportedly carrying sanctioned crude from the Venezuelan regime – is now off the coast of Texas.
A satellite firm's satellite imagery dated 21 December shows the ship is near Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking data from MarineTraffic presently places the vessel about 50 miles from the coast.
The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by American officials on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by multiple governments. At the time it was seized, it was falsely flying the ensign of Guyana.
This interception was followed by the interception of a another tanker, the Centuries tanker. This ship – in contrast to the Skipper – was not yet under sanctions when it was taken into US custody.
American agencies are now targeting a third vessel, which has been identified by the maritime risk group a risk firm as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump said yesterday that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on X, the maritime monitoring group said the vessel Bella 1 has been “in transit for over a month” and, at an average speed of 11 knots, may have “another 28 to 35 days of diesel remaining unless her velocity decreases”.
The monitoring service added the tanker is “likely traveling in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.
