Imagery Image Shows Initial Venezuela-Linked Tanker Seized by US is Now Near Texas.
US agents roped onto the deck of the tanker Skipper on 10 December.
Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring information has confirmed that the crude carrier named Skipper – the first vessel seized by the US for reportedly carrying embargoed crude from Venezuela – is currently off the coast of the state of Texas.
A satellite firm's orbital photographs dated 21 December shows the ship is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking feeds from a maritime data service presently places the vessel about 80km from the coast.
The Skipper was taken into custody by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been sanctioned by several nations. At the time it was intercepted, it was incorrectly sailing under the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This interception was followed by the interception of a another oil vessel, the Centuries tanker. This ship – unlike the Skipper – was not under official restrictions when it was taken into US custody.
American agencies are now targeting a third such ship, which has been named by the maritime risk 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 TankerTrackers group said the Bella 1 has been “underway for over a month” and, at an average speed of 11 knots, may have “approximately a month of diesel remaining unless her speed drops”.
The group further stated the tanker is “likely heading south-east towards South Africa”.
