American agents roped onto the deck of the tanker Skipper on 10 December.
Orbital data and ship tracking data has confirmed that the crude carrier Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the US for reportedly transporting sanctioned oil from Venezuela – is now off the coast of the state of Texas.
A satellite firm's satellite imagery from 21 December indicates the ship is in the vicinity of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking feeds from MarineTraffic presently positions the Skipper about 50 miles offshore.
The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by American officials on 10 December and has been blacklisted by multiple nations. At the time it was seized, it was incorrectly sailing under the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This interception was succeeded by the capture of a second tanker, the Centuries. This ship – unlike the first vessel – was not under official restrictions when it was brought under American control.
US authorities are currently targeting a third vessel, which has been identified by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. President Donald Trump stated recently that “it will ultimately be secured”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the TankerTrackers group said the vessel Bella 1 has been “in transit for 39 days” and, at an average speed of 11 knots, may have “another 28 to 35 days of fuel remaining unless her speed decreases”.
The group added the tanker is “probably traveling south-east towards South Africa”.
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