Satellite Data Shows First Venezuelan Oil Ship Confiscated by US is Now Off Texas.
American agents roped onto the vessel of the tanker Skipper on December 10th.
Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring information has verified that the crude carrier named Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the US for reportedly carrying embargoed crude from Venezuela – is currently positioned near of the state of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery from 21 December indicates the ship is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking data from a maritime data service currently positions the vessel about 80km from the coast.
The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by American officials on the tenth of December and has been sanctioned by multiple governments. When it was seized, it was incorrectly flying the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This interception was followed by the interception of a another tanker, the Centuries. It – unlike the Skipper – was not under sanctions when it was brought under American control.
US authorities are now pursuing a third such ship, which has been named by the risk management group a risk firm as the Bella 1. The US President stated recently that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the TankerTrackers group noted 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 diesel remaining unless her speed decreases”.
The group added the vessel is “probably traveling in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.
