Satellite Image Shows Initial Venezuelan Oil Ship Confiscated by American Authorities is Now Near Texas.

Satellite imagery and ship tracking information has confirmed that the oil tanker Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the US for allegedly transporting sanctioned oil from the Venezuelan regime – is currently positioned near of Texas.

Vantor orbital photographs from 21 December indicates the ship is near the port of Galveston, while AIS ship-tracking data from a maritime data service presently places the Skipper about 80km from the coast.

The Skipper was seized by American officials on the tenth of December and has been sanctioned by several nations. At the time it was seized, it was falsely flying the flag of the nation of Guyana.

This seizure was followed by the capture of a second oil vessel, the Centuries tanker. This ship – in contrast to the first vessel – was not under official restrictions when it was brought under American control.

US authorities are currently pursuing a third such ship, which has been identified by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. The US President stated recently that “we’ll end up getting it”.

Writing on the social media platform X, the maritime monitoring group noted the Bella 1 has been “underway for 39 days” and, at an average speed of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “approximately a month of diesel left unless her velocity decreases”.

The monitoring service added the vessel is “likely heading in a southeasterly direction towards South Africa”.