Imagery Data Reveals First Venezuela-Linked Tanker Seized by US is Currently Near the Texas Coast.
American agents boarding the vessel of the tanker Skipper on December 10th.
Orbital data and vessel monitoring information has confirmed that the crude carrier Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the US for allegedly carrying embargoed oil from Venezuela – is now positioned near of Texas.
Vantor orbital photographs dated 21 December shows the tanker is near the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic presently positions the Skipper about 50 miles from the coast.
The Skipper was taken into custody by US authorities on 10 December and has been blacklisted by multiple governments. When it was intercepted, it was falsely sailing under the flag of the nation of Guyana.
This seizure was succeeded by the capture of a second tanker, the Centuries. This ship – unlike the Skipper – was not under sanctions when it was brought under US custody.
American agencies are now pursuing a third ship, which has been identified by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. The US President said yesterday that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the maritime monitoring group noted the Bella 1 has been “underway for 39 days” and, at an average speed of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “approximately a month of fuel remaining unless her speed drops”.
The group further stated the vessel is “probably traveling in a southeasterly direction towards South Africa”.
