Imagery Data Reveals First Venezuela-Linked Oil Ship Confiscated by American Authorities is Currently Off Texas.
American agents roped onto the vessel of the tanker Skipper on 10 December.
Satellite imagery and ship tracking information has confirmed that the oil tanker Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the United States for allegedly transporting embargoed oil from Venezuela – is currently positioned near of the state of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery dated 21 December indicates the ship is near Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking feeds from a maritime data service presently places the Skipper about 50 miles from the coast.
The Skipper was taken into custody by US authorities on 10 December and has been blacklisted by several nations. When it was seized, it was falsely sailing under the flag of Guyana.
This interception was followed by the capture of a second oil vessel, the Centuries tanker. This ship – unlike the Skipper – was not yet under sanctions when it was taken into American control.
American agencies are currently targeting a third vessel, which has been named by the maritime risk group a risk firm as the Bella 1. The US President stated yesterday that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on X, the maritime monitoring group said the vessel Bella 1 has been “underway for 39 days” 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 vessel is “likely heading south-east towards the South African coast”.
