Imagery Data Shows Initial Venezuelan Tanker Confiscated by US is Currently Near Texas.
American personnel boarding the vessel of the Skipper on 10 December.
Satellite imagery and ship tracking data has confirmed that the oil tanker Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the United States for allegedly transporting sanctioned crude from the Venezuelan regime – is now positioned near of the state of Texas.
Vantor orbital photographs from 21 December indicates the tanker is near Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic currently places the Skipper about 50 miles from the coast.
The tanker Skipper was seized by US authorities on 10 December and has been sanctioned by multiple governments. At the time it was seized, it was falsely sailing under the flag of the nation of Guyana.
This interception was followed by the interception of a second tanker, the Centuries tanker. This ship – in contrast to the first vessel – was not yet under sanctions when it was brought under American control.
American agencies are currently targeting a third ship, which has been identified by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. President Donald Trump said recently that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on X, the maritime monitoring group said the Bella 1 has been “in transit for over a month” and, at an typical pace of 11 knots, may have “another 28 to 35 days of fuel left unless her velocity drops”.
The group added the tanker is “probably traveling south-east towards South Africa”.
