Imagery Image Reveals First Venezuela-Linked Oil Ship Seized by American Authorities is Currently Near the Texas Coast.
American agents boarding the vessel of the tanker Skipper on December 10th.
Orbital data and vessel monitoring information has verified that the oil tanker Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the United States for allegedly carrying embargoed oil from the Venezuelan regime – is currently positioned near of the state of Texas.
A satellite firm's satellite imagery dated 21 December shows the tanker is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while AIS ship-tracking data from a maritime data service currently positions the Skipper about 50 miles from the coast.
The Skipper was taken into custody by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been sanctioned by multiple governments. When it was intercepted, it was falsely flying the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the capture of a another oil vessel, the Centuries. This ship – in contrast to the first vessel – was not under sanctions when it was taken into American control.
US authorities are now pursuing a third ship, which has been named by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. The US President said recently that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the TankerTrackers group said the vessel Bella 1 has been “underway for over a month” and, at an typical pace of 11 knots, may have “approximately a month of diesel left unless her velocity drops”.
The monitoring service further stated the vessel is “probably traveling south-east towards the South African coast”.
