Imagery Data Shows Initial Venezuelan Oil Ship Confiscated by US is Now Near Texas.
American personnel roped onto the vessel of the Skipper on 10 December.
Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring information has confirmed that the oil tanker Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the United States for allegedly carrying sanctioned oil from the Venezuelan regime – is currently off the coast of Texas.
Vantor orbital photographs from 21 December indicates the ship is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while AIS ship-tracking feeds from a maritime data service currently positions 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. At the time it was intercepted, it was falsely flying the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This interception was followed by the interception of a second tanker, the Centuries. It – unlike the Skipper – was not yet under official restrictions when it was brought under US custody.
American agencies are currently targeting a third such ship, which has been identified by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. President Donald Trump stated recently that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on X, the TankerTrackers group said the Bella 1 has been “in transit for 39 days” and, at an typical pace of 11 knots, may have “approximately a month of fuel remaining unless her velocity drops”.
The group added the tanker is “likely traveling south-east towards the South African coast”.
