US agents roped onto the vessel of the Skipper on 10 December.
Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring information has verified that the crude carrier Skipper – the first vessel seized by the United States for reportedly transporting embargoed oil from Venezuela – is currently off the coast 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 feeds from a maritime data service presently places the vessel about 50 miles offshore.
The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by American officials on 10 December and has been blacklisted by several nations. At the time it was seized, it was falsely sailing under the ensign of Guyana.
This seizure was followed by the interception of a another oil vessel, the Centuries tanker. This ship – in contrast to the first vessel – was not under sanctions when it was taken into US custody.
US authorities are currently pursuing a third such vessel, which has been identified by the risk management group a risk firm as the Bella 1 tanker. President Donald Trump stated yesterday that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on X, the maritime monitoring group noted the vessel Bella 1 has been “underway for 39 days” and, at an typical pace of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “approximately a month of fuel remaining unless her speed drops”.
The monitoring service further stated the vessel is “likely heading in a southeasterly direction towards South Africa”.
