Imagery Image Reveals First Venezuela-Linked Tanker Confiscated by US is Now Off Texas.
US agents roped onto the deck of the tanker Skipper on 10 December.
Orbital data and ship tracking data has verified that the oil tanker named Skipper – the first vessel seized by the United States for allegedly transporting sanctioned oil from Venezuela – is currently off the coast of the state of Texas.
A satellite firm's satellite imagery dated 21 December shows the tanker is near Galveston, while AIS ship-tracking feeds from MarineTraffic presently positions the Skipper about 80km offshore.
The tanker Skipper was seized by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been sanctioned by multiple nations. When it was intercepted, it was falsely flying the flag of Guyana.
This seizure was succeeded by the capture of a another oil vessel, the Centuries tanker. This ship – in contrast to the first vessel – was not yet under sanctions when it was brought under US custody.
American agencies are now targeting a third such vessel, which has been named by the maritime risk group a risk firm as the Bella 1 tanker. The US President stated yesterday that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on X, the maritime monitoring group noted the Bella 1 has been “in transit for over a month” and, at an average speed of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “another 28 to 35 days of fuel left unless her velocity decreases”.
The monitoring service added the tanker is “likely traveling south-east towards South Africa”.
