Satellite Image Reveals Initial Venezuela-Linked Oil Ship Seized by US is Now Near Texas.
American personnel roped onto the vessel of the Skipper on December 10th.
Orbital data and vessel monitoring information has confirmed that the oil tanker named Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the United States for reportedly transporting embargoed oil from Venezuela – is currently positioned near of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery from 21 December shows the tanker is near the port of Galveston, while AIS vessel-tracking feeds from MarineTraffic currently positions the vessel about 80km offshore.
The tanker Skipper was seized by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been sanctioned by several nations. At the time it was intercepted, it was falsely sailing under the ensign of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the interception of a second tanker, the Centuries. This ship – unlike the Skipper – was not under sanctions when it was taken into American control.
American agencies are now targeting a third such vessel, which has been identified by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. President Donald Trump said recently that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on X, the TankerTrackers group noted the vessel Bella 1 has been “in transit for over a month” and, at an typical pace of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “approximately a month of fuel left unless her velocity decreases”.
The monitoring service further stated the tanker is “likely heading south-east towards South Africa”.
