Imagery Data Shows Initial Venezuelan Oil Ship Confiscated by US is Now Off Texas.
American personnel boarding the vessel of the Skipper on 10 December.
Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring information has verified that the oil tanker named Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the US for reportedly transporting sanctioned crude from the Venezuelan regime – is currently positioned near of Texas.
A satellite firm's orbital photographs dated 21 December shows the ship is near the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking feeds from MarineTraffic currently positions the Skipper about 80km from the coast.
The Skipper was seized by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by several governments. At the time it was seized, it was incorrectly sailing under the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This interception was followed by the interception of a another tanker, the Centuries. It – in contrast to the first vessel – was not under official restrictions when it was taken into American control.
US authorities are now targeting a third such ship, which has been identified by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1. The US President said yesterday that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on X, the maritime monitoring group said the Bella 1 has been “underway for 39 days” and, at an average speed of 11 knots, may have “another 28 to 35 days of fuel remaining unless her speed decreases”.
The monitoring service further stated the vessel is “probably traveling in a southeasterly direction towards South Africa”.
