Satellite Data Reveals First Venezuelan Tanker Seized by US is Now Off Texas.
American agents roped onto the deck of the Skipper on December 10th.
Orbital data and ship tracking information has confirmed that the crude carrier named Skipper – the first vessel seized by the US for reportedly carrying sanctioned crude from the Venezuelan regime – is now off the coast of the state of Texas.
Vantor orbital photographs dated 21 December indicates the ship is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking feeds from MarineTraffic presently places the Skipper about 80km from the coast.
The Skipper was taken into custody by American officials on 10 December and has been blacklisted by several governments. When it was seized, it was falsely flying the flag of Guyana.
This interception was succeeded by the interception of a second tanker, the Centuries. It – in contrast to the Skipper – was not yet under sanctions when it was brought under US custody.
American agencies are now pursuing a third ship, which has been named by the risk management group a risk firm as the Bella 1 tanker. President Donald Trump said yesterday that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on X, the TankerTrackers group noted the vessel Bella 1 has been “underway for over a month” and, at an typical pace of 11 knots, may have “another 28 to 35 days of fuel left unless her velocity drops”.
The group further stated the tanker is “probably heading in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.
