Satellite Data Reveals Initial Venezuelan Oil Ship Seized by US is Currently Near Texas.
American personnel roped onto the deck of the Skipper on December 10th.
Satellite imagery and ship tracking data has verified that the crude carrier Skipper – the initial vessel seized by the US for allegedly carrying embargoed crude from the Venezuelan regime – is currently positioned near of Texas.
A satellite firm's orbital photographs from 21 December shows the ship is near the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking data from a maritime data service currently positions the Skipper about 80km from the coast.
The tanker Skipper was seized by US authorities on 10 December and has been sanctioned by multiple nations. When it was seized, it was incorrectly flying the ensign of Guyana.
This interception was followed by the capture of a another oil vessel, the Centuries. It – unlike the Skipper – was not yet under official restrictions when it was taken into American control.
American agencies are currently targeting a third such ship, which has been identified by the risk management group a risk firm as the Bella 1. The US President said yesterday that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the TankerTrackers group said the Bella 1 has been “underway for 39 days” and, at an typical pace of 11 knots, may have “approximately a month of diesel left unless her speed drops”.
The monitoring service added the vessel is “probably traveling in a southeasterly direction towards South Africa”.
