Imagery Data Reveals Initial Venezuelan Oil Ship Seized by US is Now Near Texas.
US agents roped onto the deck of the Skipper on 10 December.
Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring data has confirmed that the crude carrier Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the United States for allegedly carrying sanctioned oil from the Venezuelan regime – is now off the coast of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery dated 21 December indicates the tanker is in the vicinity of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking data from a maritime data service presently positions the Skipper about 80km offshore.
The tanker Skipper was seized by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by several nations. At the time it was seized, it was incorrectly sailing under the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This interception was succeeded by the interception of a another oil vessel, the Centuries. This ship – in contrast to the Skipper – was not yet under sanctions when it was taken into American control.
US authorities are now targeting a third vessel, which has been named by the risk management group a risk firm as the Bella 1. The US President said yesterday that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on X, the TankerTrackers group said the Bella 1 has been “underway for 39 days” and, at an average speed of 11 knots, may have “another 28 to 35 days of fuel remaining unless her velocity drops”.
The monitoring service added the vessel is “probably traveling south-east towards the South African coast”.
