Satellite Data Reveals First Venezuela-Linked Tanker Confiscated by American Authorities is Now Near the Texas Coast.
American personnel boarding the vessel of the tanker Skipper on 10 December.
Orbital data and ship tracking data has confirmed that the oil tanker Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the US for allegedly carrying embargoed crude from the Venezuelan regime – is now off the coast of Texas.
A satellite firm's satellite imagery from 21 December indicates the tanker is in the vicinity of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking data from MarineTraffic currently positions the vessel about 80km from the coast.
The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by American officials on 10 December and has been blacklisted by multiple nations. At the time it was seized, it was falsely flying the flag of Guyana.
This interception was followed by the interception of a second tanker, the Centuries tanker. It – unlike the Skipper – was not yet under official restrictions when it was brought under American control.
US authorities are currently targeting a third vessel, which has been identified by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. President Donald Trump said 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 typical pace of 11 knots, may have “approximately a month of diesel left unless her speed decreases”.
The monitoring service added the vessel is “likely heading south-east towards South Africa”.
