Imagery Image Reveals Initial Venezuela-Linked Tanker Seized by American Authorities is Now Off Texas.
American personnel boarding the vessel of the tanker Skipper on 10 December.
Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring information has verified that the crude carrier Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the United States for reportedly carrying embargoed oil from Venezuela – is now positioned near of Texas.
A satellite firm's satellite imagery dated 21 December indicates the ship is near the port of Galveston, while AIS ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic presently positions the vessel about 80km from the coast.
The Skipper was seized by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by several nations. When it was intercepted, it was incorrectly flying the ensign of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the capture of a second oil vessel, the Centuries. This ship – unlike the Skipper – was not under sanctions when it was brought under US custody.
American agencies are now pursuing a third ship, which has been named by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. The US President said recently that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the TankerTrackers group noted the vessel Bella 1 has been “underway for 39 days” and, at an average speed of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “another 28 to 35 days of diesel remaining unless her speed drops”.
The group added the tanker is “probably traveling in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.
