Imagery Image Reveals Initial Venezuela-Linked Tanker Confiscated by US is Now Near Texas.
US agents boarding the deck of the Skipper on 10 December.
Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring data has verified that the crude carrier named Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the United States for reportedly carrying sanctioned crude from Venezuela – is currently positioned near of the state of Texas.
A satellite firm's orbital photographs dated 21 December indicates the tanker is in the vicinity of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking data from a maritime data service presently positions the Skipper about 80km from the coast.
The Skipper was seized by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been sanctioned by multiple nations. At the time it was intercepted, it was falsely sailing under the flag of Guyana.
This interception was succeeded by the capture of a another tanker, the Centuries tanker. This ship – unlike the Skipper – was not yet under sanctions when it was brought under US custody.
US authorities are currently pursuing a third vessel, which has been identified by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1. The US President said yesterday that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the maritime monitoring group noted the vessel Bella 1 has been “in transit 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 vessel is “probably heading south-east towards South Africa”.