Imagery Image Reveals First Venezuela-Linked Oil Ship Confiscated by American Authorities is Now Off Texas.
US agents roped onto the vessel of the tanker Skipper on 10 December.
Satellite imagery and ship tracking information has confirmed that the oil tanker Skipper – the first vessel seized by the United States for allegedly carrying embargoed crude from Venezuela – is currently positioned near of the state of Texas.
A satellite firm's satellite imagery from 21 December indicates the tanker is near the port of Galveston, while AIS ship-tracking feeds from a maritime data service presently places the Skipper about 50 miles from the coast.
The Skipper was taken into custody by American officials on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by multiple nations. At the time it was intercepted, it was falsely flying the flag of Guyana.
This interception was succeeded by the interception of a another oil vessel, the Centuries. It – unlike the Skipper – was not yet under official restrictions when it was taken into US custody.
American agencies are now pursuing a third ship, which has been identified by the maritime risk group a risk firm as the Bella 1. The US President stated yesterday that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on X, the maritime monitoring group said the Bella 1 has been “underway for over a month” and, at an typical pace of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “another 28 to 35 days of fuel remaining unless her speed drops”.
The monitoring service further stated the vessel is “probably traveling in a southeasterly direction towards South Africa”.
