🔗 Share this article

Orbital data and ship tracking data has verified that the crude carrier named Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the United States for reportedly transporting embargoed crude from Venezuela – is now off the coast of the state of Texas.

Vantor satellite imagery dated 21 December indicates the tanker is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking feeds from a maritime data service currently places the vessel about 80km offshore.

The tanker Skipper was seized by American officials on the tenth of December and has been sanctioned by multiple governments. At the time it was intercepted, it was incorrectly flying the flag of Guyana.

This seizure was succeeded by the interception of a another tanker, the Centuries. This ship – in contrast to the Skipper – was not yet under official restrictions when it was brought under American control.

American agencies are now pursuing a third ship, which has been named by the maritime risk group a risk firm as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump stated recently that “it will ultimately be secured”.

Writing on the social media platform X, the TankerTrackers group noted the Bella 1 has been “in transit for 39 days” 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 vessel is “probably traveling south-east towards South Africa”.