American personnel roped onto the vessel of the Skipper on December 10th.
Orbital data and vessel monitoring data has verified that the oil tanker named Skipper – the first vessel seized by the United States for reportedly carrying sanctioned 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 AIS vessel-tracking feeds from MarineTraffic currently places the vessel about 50 miles offshore.
The Skipper was taken into custody by US authorities on 10 December and has been sanctioned by several governments. When it was intercepted, it was falsely flying the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This seizure was succeeded by the interception of a second tanker, the Centuries. This ship – unlike the Skipper – was not under official restrictions when it was taken into US custody.
American agencies are now targeting a third such vessel, which has been named by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1. The US President said recently that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the maritime monitoring group said the vessel Bella 1 has been “underway for over a month” and, at an average speed of 11 knots, may have “another 28 to 35 days of fuel remaining unless her speed decreases”.
The group further stated the vessel is “likely traveling south-east towards the South African coast”.
