🔗 Share this article Satellite Image Reveals First Venezuela-Linked Oil Ship Confiscated by US is Now Off the Texas Coast. American personnel roped onto the deck of the tanker Skipper on December 10th. Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring information has verified that the crude carrier Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the US for allegedly carrying sanctioned crude from Venezuela – is currently off the coast of Texas. A satellite firm's satellite imagery dated 21 December indicates the ship is in the vicinity of Galveston, while AIS ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic presently places the Skipper about 50 miles offshore. The Skipper was taken into custody by US authorities on 10 December and has been blacklisted by several governments. When it was seized, it was falsely flying the ensign of the nation of Guyana. This interception was succeeded by the interception of a another tanker, the Centuries tanker. It – in contrast to the Skipper – was not under sanctions when it was brought under 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 “it will ultimately be secured”. Writing on X, the maritime monitoring group said the Bella 1 has been “in transit for 39 days” and, at an average speed of 11 knots, may have “approximately a month of diesel remaining unless her velocity drops”. The group added the tanker is “probably traveling in a southeasterly direction towards South Africa”.