Satellite Image Reveals Initial Venezuela-Linked Oil Ship Seized by US is Now Near the Texas Coast.
US agents boarding the vessel of the tanker Skipper on 10 December.
Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring data has confirmed that the oil tanker Skipper – the initial vessel seized by the United States for reportedly carrying embargoed oil from Venezuela – is now off the coast of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery dated 21 December indicates the ship is near the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking feeds from MarineTraffic currently positions the Skipper about 50 miles from the coast.
The tanker Skipper was seized by US authorities on 10 December and has been blacklisted by several nations. At the time it was seized, it was falsely sailing under the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the capture of a second tanker, the Centuries tanker. This ship – in contrast to the Skipper – was not yet under sanctions when it was brought under US custody.
American agencies are now targeting a third such vessel, which has been named by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. President Donald Trump said recently that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on X, the maritime monitoring group noted the vessel Bella 1 has been “in transit for over a month” and, at an average speed of 11 knots, may have “another 28 to 35 days of fuel remaining unless her speed decreases”.
The monitoring service further stated the vessel is “likely heading south-east towards the South African coast”.
