Imagery Data Shows First Venezuelan Tanker Seized by American Authorities is Now Near the Texas Coast.
American personnel boarding the deck of the tanker Skipper on 10 December.
Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring data has verified that the crude carrier Skipper – the initial vessel seized by the US for reportedly transporting sanctioned crude from Venezuela – is now off the coast of the state of Texas.
A satellite firm's orbital photographs dated 21 December indicates the ship is near the port of Galveston, while AIS vessel-tracking feeds from MarineTraffic presently places the Skipper about 50 miles from the coast.
The tanker Skipper was seized by American officials on the tenth of December and has been sanctioned by several governments. At the time it was intercepted, it was incorrectly sailing under the ensign of Guyana.
This seizure was succeeded by the interception of a second tanker, the Centuries tanker. This ship – unlike the Skipper – was not yet under official restrictions when it was brought under American control.
US authorities are currently targeting a third such ship, which has been named by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump stated yesterday that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the TankerTrackers group said the Bella 1 has been “in transit for 39 days” and, at an average speed of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “approximately a month of fuel remaining unless her velocity drops”.
The group added the tanker is “probably traveling in a southeasterly direction towards South Africa”.
