Satellite Image Shows Initial Venezuelan Oil Ship Confiscated by US is Now Off Texas.
US agents boarding the vessel of the Skipper on 10 December.
Satellite imagery and ship tracking information has confirmed that the crude carrier Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the United States for reportedly transporting embargoed oil from the Venezuelan regime – is now positioned near of Texas.
A satellite firm's satellite imagery dated 21 December indicates the ship is in the vicinity of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic presently places the vessel about 80km offshore.
The Skipper was taken into custody 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 flag of the nation of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the interception of a another tanker, the Centuries tanker. This ship – unlike the Skipper – was not yet under sanctions when it was taken into American control.
US authorities are now targeting a third such vessel, which has been named by the maritime risk group a risk firm as the Bella 1 tanker. 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 knots, may have “another 28 to 35 days of fuel left unless her speed decreases”.
The group further stated the tanker is “likely traveling south-east towards South Africa”.
