Satellite Data Reveals First Venezuela-Linked Oil Ship Confiscated by US is Currently Near Texas.
US personnel roped onto the deck of the tanker Skipper on 10 December.
Orbital data and ship tracking data has confirmed that the oil tanker Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the US for allegedly carrying sanctioned crude from Venezuela – is currently off the coast of the state of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery dated 21 December indicates the ship is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking data from MarineTraffic currently places the vessel about 50 miles offshore.
The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by multiple nations. When it was seized, it was incorrectly sailing under the flag of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the capture of a second oil vessel, the Centuries tanker. This ship – in contrast to the Skipper – was not yet under sanctions when it was taken into American control.
US authorities are currently pursuing a third such ship, which has been identified by the maritime risk group a risk firm as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump stated 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 “another 28 to 35 days of fuel remaining unless her velocity decreases”.
The group further stated the vessel is “likely heading in a southeasterly direction towards South Africa”.
