Satellite Image Shows First Venezuelan Tanker Seized by US is Currently Off the Texas Coast.
American agents roped onto the deck of the tanker Skipper on December 10th.
Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring data has verified that the crude carrier named Skipper – the first vessel seized by the United States for allegedly carrying embargoed oil from the Venezuelan regime – is currently positioned near of Texas.
A satellite firm's satellite imagery dated 21 December indicates the ship is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while AIS vessel-tracking data from a maritime data service presently places the Skipper about 50 miles offshore.
The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by American officials on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by several nations. When it was intercepted, it was falsely flying the flag of Guyana.
This seizure was succeeded by the interception of a another tanker, the Centuries. This ship – unlike the Skipper – was not under official restrictions when it was brought under American control.
US authorities are now targeting a third such vessel, which has been identified by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1. The US President said recently that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on X, the TankerTrackers group said the vessel Bella 1 has been “underway for over a month” and, at an typical pace of 11 knots, may have “approximately a month of diesel remaining unless her velocity decreases”.
The monitoring service further stated the tanker is “likely traveling south-east towards South Africa”.
