Satellite Data Reveals First Venezuelan Tanker Seized by American Authorities is Currently Near the Texas Coast.
US agents roped onto the deck of the tanker Skipper on 10 December.
Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring information has confirmed that the oil tanker named Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the US for reportedly transporting sanctioned crude from the Venezuelan regime – is now positioned near of Texas.
A satellite firm's satellite imagery dated 21 December shows the tanker is in the vicinity of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking feeds from a maritime data service presently places the Skipper about 50 miles from the coast.
The Skipper was seized by US authorities on 10 December and has been sanctioned by multiple governments. At the time it was seized, it was incorrectly flying the flag of Guyana.
This seizure was succeeded by the capture of a second tanker, the Centuries. This ship – unlike the first vessel – was not yet under official restrictions when it was taken into US custody.
US authorities are now pursuing a third such vessel, which has been named by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. President Donald Trump stated recently that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the maritime monitoring group noted the Bella 1 has been “underway for over a month” and, at an average speed of 11 knots, may have “another 28 to 35 days of fuel left unless her velocity decreases”.
The group further stated the vessel is “probably traveling in a southeasterly direction towards South Africa”.
