Imagery Data Shows Initial Venezuelan Oil Ship Seized by American Authorities is Currently Off Texas.
American agents roped onto the deck of the Skipper on 10 December.
Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring data has confirmed that the crude carrier Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the US for allegedly carrying sanctioned oil from Venezuela – is currently positioned near of Texas.
A satellite firm's orbital photographs dated 21 December shows the tanker is in the vicinity of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking data from a maritime data service presently positions the Skipper about 50 miles from the coast.
The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by multiple nations. At the time it was intercepted, it was falsely flying the ensign of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the interception of a another tanker, the Centuries. This ship – in contrast to the Skipper – was not under sanctions when it was taken into US custody.
US authorities are currently targeting a third such ship, which has been named by the risk management group a risk firm as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump stated recently that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the maritime monitoring group noted the vessel Bella 1 has been “in transit for 39 days” and, at an typical pace of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “approximately a month of diesel remaining unless her speed decreases”.
The monitoring service further stated the vessel is “likely traveling in a southeasterly direction towards South Africa”.
