US agents roped onto the deck of the Skipper on 10 December.
Orbital data and ship tracking data has confirmed that the crude carrier named Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the United States for allegedly transporting sanctioned crude from the Venezuelan regime – is now positioned near of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery dated 21 December shows the tanker is in the vicinity of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking data from a maritime data service currently positions the Skipper about 80km offshore.
The Skipper was seized by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been sanctioned by several governments. At the time it was seized, it was falsely sailing under the flag of Guyana.
This seizure was succeeded by the capture of a second tanker, the Centuries. This ship – in contrast to the Skipper – was not under sanctions when it was taken into American control.
American agencies are currently pursuing a third ship, which has been named by the maritime risk group a risk firm as the Bella 1. The US President stated yesterday that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on X, the maritime monitoring group said the Bella 1 has been “underway for 39 days” and, at an typical pace of 11 knots, may have “another 28 to 35 days of fuel remaining unless her velocity drops”.
The group added the vessel is “likely heading in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.
