Imagery Data Shows First Venezuela-Linked Tanker Confiscated by American Authorities is Currently Near Texas.
US personnel roped onto the deck of the Skipper on December 10th.
Orbital data and ship tracking data has confirmed that the crude carrier named Skipper – the first vessel seized by the US for reportedly carrying sanctioned oil from the Venezuelan regime – is now positioned near of Texas.
A satellite firm's orbital photographs dated 21 December indicates the ship is near the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking data from a maritime data service currently places the vessel about 50 miles from the coast.
The tanker Skipper was seized by American officials on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by several nations. When it was seized, it was incorrectly flying the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This interception was succeeded by the interception of a second oil vessel, the Centuries. It – unlike the Skipper – was not under sanctions when it was taken into US custody.
US authorities are currently targeting a third such ship, which has been named by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. The US President stated yesterday that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on X, the TankerTrackers group noted the vessel Bella 1 has been “underway for 39 days” and, at an typical pace of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “approximately a month of diesel remaining unless her speed drops”.
The group further stated the tanker is “probably heading in a southeasterly direction towards South Africa”.
