Imagery Image Shows Initial Venezuela-Linked Tanker Seized by US is Currently Off the Texas Coast.
American agents boarding the deck of the tanker Skipper on December 10th.
Orbital data and vessel monitoring information has verified that the crude carrier named Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the United States for allegedly carrying embargoed crude from Venezuela – is now positioned near of the state of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery from 21 December indicates the ship is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic currently positions the vessel about 80km from the coast.
The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by American officials on 10 December and has been blacklisted by multiple nations. When it was seized, it was falsely sailing under the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This interception was succeeded by the interception of a second tanker, the Centuries tanker. This ship – unlike the first vessel – was not under official restrictions 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. The US President said yesterday that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on X, the TankerTrackers group noted the vessel Bella 1 has been “in transit for 39 days” and, at an average speed of 11 knots, may have “approximately a month of fuel remaining unless her velocity decreases”.
The group further stated the vessel is “probably traveling in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.
