Satellite Data Reveals Initial Venezuela-Linked Tanker Confiscated by US is Now Off Texas.
US agents roped onto the vessel of the Skipper on 10 December.
Orbital data and ship tracking information has confirmed that the crude carrier named Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the US for allegedly carrying sanctioned crude from Venezuela – is now off the coast of Texas.
A satellite firm's orbital photographs from 21 December shows the ship is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while AIS ship-tracking data from a maritime data service presently places the vessel about 50 miles from the coast.
The Skipper was seized by American officials on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by multiple nations. When it was intercepted, it was incorrectly flying the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This interception was succeeded by the capture of a another tanker, the Centuries. This ship – in contrast to the first vessel – was not yet under official restrictions when it was brought under American control.
American agencies are currently targeting a third vessel, which has been named by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. The US President said yesterday that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on X, the TankerTrackers group noted the Bella 1 has been “underway for over a month” and, at an average speed of 11 knots, may have “approximately a month of diesel remaining unless her speed drops”.
The monitoring service further stated the vessel is “likely traveling in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.
