🔗 Share this article Imagery Data Shows First Venezuelan Oil Ship Confiscated by American Authorities is Currently Near the Texas Coast. American agents roped onto the deck of the Skipper on December 10th. Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring information has confirmed that the oil tanker Skipper – the first vessel seized by the United States for allegedly transporting sanctioned crude from Venezuela – is now positioned near of Texas. Vantor satellite imagery from 21 December indicates the tanker is near the port of Galveston, while AIS vessel-tracking data from a maritime data service presently places the Skipper about 80km from the coast. The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by several governments. When it was intercepted, it was incorrectly flying the ensign of the nation of Guyana. This interception was succeeded by the capture of a another tanker, the Centuries tanker. This ship – in contrast to the first vessel – was not yet under official restrictions when it was taken into US custody. American agencies are currently targeting a third ship, which has been identified by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1. The US President stated yesterday that “it will ultimately be secured”. Writing on the social media platform X, the maritime monitoring group said the vessel 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 remaining unless her speed decreases”. The monitoring service further stated the tanker is “likely traveling in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.