Satellite Image Shows First Venezuelan Tanker Confiscated by US is Currently Off the Texas Coast.
US personnel boarding the deck of the tanker Skipper on December 10th.
Orbital data and ship tracking information has verified that the oil tanker named Skipper – the first vessel seized by the United States for allegedly carrying sanctioned crude from the Venezuelan regime – is currently off the coast of the state of Texas.
A satellite firm's orbital photographs from 21 December indicates the ship is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while AIS vessel-tracking feeds from a maritime data service currently places the vessel about 50 miles from the coast.
The Skipper was seized by American officials on 10 December and has been blacklisted by multiple nations. When it was intercepted, it was incorrectly sailing under the flag of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the interception of a second tanker, the Centuries. It – unlike the first vessel – was not yet under official restrictions when it was brought under American control.
US authorities are currently targeting a third such vessel, which has been named by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump said yesterday that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the maritime monitoring group noted the Bella 1 has been “underway for 39 days” and, at an typical pace of 11 knots, may have “another 28 to 35 days of fuel remaining unless her velocity decreases”.
The monitoring service further stated the vessel is “probably heading in a southeasterly direction towards South Africa”.
