Imagery Image Shows Initial Venezuelan Oil Ship Confiscated by US is Now Near Texas.
US agents boarding the vessel of the tanker Skipper on 10 December.
Orbital data and ship tracking information has confirmed that the crude carrier Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the United States for reportedly carrying embargoed oil from Venezuela – is now positioned near of Texas.
A satellite firm's orbital photographs from 21 December shows the ship is in the vicinity of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking data from a maritime data service presently positions the vessel 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 nations. At the time it was intercepted, it was incorrectly sailing under the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This seizure was succeeded by the interception of a another oil vessel, the Centuries tanker. This ship – unlike the Skipper – was not under sanctions when it was brought under American control.
American agencies are currently targeting a third ship, which has been named by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. The US President stated yesterday that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on X, the TankerTrackers group said the Bella 1 has been “in transit 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 velocity decreases”.
The group further stated the tanker is “probably traveling south-east towards the South African coast”.
