🔗 Share this article Imagery Data Reveals Initial Venezuelan Tanker Confiscated by US is Currently Near the Texas Coast. American personnel roped onto the deck of the Skipper on December 10th. Orbital data and vessel monitoring data has confirmed that the oil tanker Skipper – the initial vessel seized by the United States for reportedly carrying sanctioned crude from Venezuela – is currently off the coast of the state of Texas. Vantor satellite imagery dated 21 December shows the ship is near the port of Galveston, while AIS ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic presently places the vessel about 80km offshore. The Skipper was seized by American officials on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by multiple nations. When it was seized, it was falsely sailing under the flag of Guyana. This seizure was followed by the interception of a another oil vessel, the Centuries tanker. It – in contrast to the first vessel – was not yet under sanctions when it was taken into US custody. American agencies are now pursuing a third vessel, which has been identified by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1. The US President stated recently that “we’ll end up getting it”. Writing on X, the TankerTrackers group noted the Bella 1 has been “underway for over a month” and, at an typical pace of 11 knots, may have “approximately a month of diesel remaining unless her velocity drops”. The group added the tanker is “probably traveling in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.