🔗 Share this article Imagery Data Reveals First Venezuelan Tanker Confiscated by American Authorities is Now Off the Texas Coast. American agents roped onto the deck of the Skipper on 10 December. Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring information has confirmed that the oil tanker named Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the United States for allegedly carrying embargoed oil from the Venezuelan regime – is now off the coast of the state of Texas. Vantor orbital photographs from 21 December indicates the tanker is near Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking feeds from a maritime data service currently places the Skipper about 80km offshore. The Skipper was taken into custody by American officials on 10 December and has been sanctioned by multiple nations. At the time it was intercepted, it was incorrectly flying the ensign of Guyana. This seizure was succeeded by the capture of a second oil vessel, the Centuries. This ship – in contrast to the first vessel – was not yet under official restrictions when it was brought under American control. US authorities are currently targeting a third such ship, which has been identified by the risk management group a risk firm 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 over a month” and, at an typical pace of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “approximately a month of fuel remaining unless her speed drops”. The monitoring service further stated the tanker is “probably heading in a southeasterly direction towards South Africa”.