🔗 Share this article Imagery Image Shows First Venezuelan Tanker Confiscated by American Authorities is Now Near the Texas Coast. American personnel boarding the deck of the Skipper on 10 December. Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring data has verified that the oil tanker named Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the United States for allegedly carrying embargoed oil from the Venezuelan regime – is now positioned near of the state of Texas. Vantor orbital photographs from 21 December shows the tanker is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking data from a maritime data service currently places the Skipper about 80km offshore. The Skipper was seized by US authorities on 10 December and has been blacklisted by several governments. When it was intercepted, it was falsely flying the flag of the nation of Guyana. This seizure was succeeded by the capture of a another tanker, the Centuries tanker. It – unlike the first vessel – was not under sanctions when it was taken into US custody. American agencies are currently targeting a third ship, which has been named by the maritime risk group a risk firm as the Bella 1 tanker. The US President stated yesterday that “we’ll end up getting it”. Writing on X, the maritime monitoring group said the vessel Bella 1 has been “in transit for over a month” and, at an average speed of 11 knots, may have “another 28 to 35 days of fuel left unless her velocity drops”. The group further stated the tanker is “likely traveling south-east towards South Africa”.