Imagery Data Reveals First Venezuela-Linked Oil Ship Seized by US is Currently Off Texas.
American agents roped onto the deck of the Skipper on 10 December.
Satellite imagery and ship tracking information has verified that the oil tanker named Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the US for allegedly carrying sanctioned crude from the Venezuelan regime – is currently off the coast of the state of Texas.
A satellite firm's orbital photographs dated 21 December indicates the ship is in the vicinity of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking data from a maritime data service currently places the Skipper about 50 miles offshore.
The Skipper was taken into custody by American officials on the tenth of December and has been sanctioned by several nations. When it was seized, 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 sanctions when it was taken into US custody.
US authorities are now targeting a third vessel, which has been named by the risk management group a risk firm as the Bella 1 tanker. The US President stated yesterday that “we’ll end up getting it”.
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 speed drops”.
The monitoring service further stated the vessel is “probably traveling south-east towards the South African coast”.
