🔗 Share this article

Orbital data and vessel monitoring information has confirmed that the oil tanker Skipper – the initial vessel seized by the United States for reportedly transporting sanctioned crude from the Venezuelan regime – is now off the coast of Texas.

A satellite firm's satellite imagery dated 21 December indicates the ship is near the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking feeds from a maritime data service currently places the Skipper about 50 miles from the coast.

The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by US authorities on 10 December and has been blacklisted by multiple governments. At the time it was intercepted, it was falsely flying the flag of Guyana.

This interception was succeeded by the capture of a second oil vessel, the Centuries tanker. It – in contrast to the Skipper – was not yet under official restrictions when it was brought under US custody.

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

Writing on X, the maritime monitoring group said the vessel Bella 1 has been “in transit for 39 days” and, at an typical pace of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “approximately a month of fuel left unless her speed decreases”.

The group added the vessel is “probably heading in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.