Imagery Image Reveals First Venezuela-Linked Oil Ship Seized by American Authorities is Currently Off Texas.

Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring information has verified that the crude carrier Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the United States for reportedly transporting sanctioned crude from the Venezuelan regime – is currently off the coast of the state of Texas.

Vantor orbital photographs dated 21 December shows the tanker is in the vicinity of Galveston, while AIS ship-tracking feeds from a maritime data service currently places the Skipper about 80km offshore.

The Skipper was seized by American officials on 10 December and has been sanctioned by multiple nations. At the time it was seized, it was falsely flying the ensign of Guyana.

This seizure was followed by the capture of a second oil vessel, the Centuries. This ship – unlike the first vessel – was not under official restrictions when it was taken into US custody.

American agencies are currently targeting a third ship, which has been identified by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. The US President said yesterday 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 average speed of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “approximately a month of fuel left unless her velocity decreases”.

The monitoring service further stated the tanker is “likely heading in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.