Satellite Image Shows Initial Venezuela-Linked Tanker Seized by US is Now Off the Texas Coast.
US agents roped onto the deck of the tanker Skipper on December 10th.
Orbital data and vessel monitoring information has confirmed that the crude carrier Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the US for reportedly transporting embargoed crude from the Venezuelan regime – is now positioned near of the state of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery dated 21 December shows the ship is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking feeds from a maritime data service currently positions the Skipper about 80km offshore.
The tanker Skipper was seized by US authorities on 10 December and has been blacklisted by multiple governments. At the time it was intercepted, it was incorrectly sailing under the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the capture of a second tanker, the Centuries. It – in contrast to the first vessel – was not under official restrictions when it was taken into American control.
US authorities are currently targeting a third vessel, which has been identified by the maritime risk group a risk firm as the Bella 1 tanker. The US President stated recently that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on X, the TankerTrackers group noted the vessel Bella 1 has been “underway for over a month” and, at an average speed of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “approximately a month of fuel remaining unless her velocity decreases”.
The group added the vessel is “likely traveling in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.
