Imagery Data Reveals Initial Venezuela-Linked Tanker Confiscated by US is Currently Near Texas.
US personnel roped onto the deck of the tanker Skipper on December 10th.
Orbital data and ship tracking data has verified that the oil tanker named Skipper – the first vessel seized by the US for allegedly transporting sanctioned oil from the Venezuelan regime – is currently off the coast of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery from 21 December indicates the tanker is near Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking feeds from MarineTraffic presently places the Skipper about 80km offshore.
The Skipper was seized by American officials on 10 December and has been sanctioned by several governments. At the time it was intercepted, it was incorrectly flying the flag of the nation of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the interception of a another tanker, the Centuries tanker. This ship – unlike the first vessel – was not yet under sanctions when it was taken into US custody.
American agencies are now pursuing a third such vessel, which has been named by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump said yesterday that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on the social media platform 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 “approximately a month of diesel left unless her speed drops”.
The monitoring service further stated the vessel is “likely traveling south-east towards South Africa”.
