Satellite Data Shows Initial Venezuela-Linked Oil Ship Confiscated by US is Now Off Texas.
US personnel boarding the vessel of the tanker Skipper on 10 December.
Orbital data and ship tracking data has confirmed that the crude carrier named Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the United States for allegedly carrying embargoed crude from the Venezuelan regime – is currently off the coast of Texas.
A satellite firm's orbital photographs dated 21 December shows the ship is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while AIS vessel-tracking data from MarineTraffic presently positions the vessel about 80km offshore.
The Skipper was seized by American officials on 10 December and has been blacklisted by multiple governments. At the time it was intercepted, it was falsely sailing under the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This seizure was succeeded by the interception of a second tanker, the Centuries. This ship – unlike the Skipper – was not under official restrictions when it was brought under US custody.
American agencies are now targeting a third such vessel, which has been named by the risk management group a risk firm as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump said recently that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the TankerTrackers group said the vessel Bella 1 has been “underway for 39 days” and, at an average speed of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “another 28 to 35 days of diesel left unless her speed decreases”.
The group added the vessel is “likely heading in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.