Satellite Data Shows First Venezuela-Linked Tanker Seized by US is Now Off the Texas Coast.
US personnel boarding the deck of the Skipper on 10 December.
Satellite imagery and ship tracking information has confirmed that the oil tanker Skipper – the first vessel seized by the US for allegedly transporting sanctioned crude from Venezuela – is currently off the coast of Texas.
A satellite firm's satellite imagery from 21 December shows the tanker is in the vicinity of Galveston, while AIS vessel-tracking data from a maritime data service currently positions the vessel about 50 miles offshore.
The Skipper was taken into custody by American officials on 10 December and has been sanctioned by multiple nations. When it was intercepted, it was falsely flying the ensign of Guyana.
This seizure was succeeded by the capture of a another oil vessel, the Centuries. This ship – in contrast to the first vessel – was not yet under official restrictions when it was taken into US custody.
US authorities are now pursuing a third vessel, which has been identified by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump said yesterday that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on X, the maritime monitoring group said the Bella 1 has been “underway for over a month” and, at an typical pace of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “another 28 to 35 days of fuel left unless her velocity drops”.
The monitoring service added the vessel is “likely heading in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.
