🔗 Share this article Satellite Image Shows Initial Venezuelan Tanker Confiscated by US is Currently Off the Texas Coast. American agents roped onto the deck of the Skipper on December 10th. Orbital data and vessel monitoring information has verified that the oil tanker named Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the US for reportedly transporting sanctioned crude from the Venezuelan regime – is currently off the coast of the state of Texas. Vantor satellite imagery from 21 December indicates the ship is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking data from a maritime data service currently positions the vessel about 80km from the coast. The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by American officials on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by multiple governments. At the time it was intercepted, it was falsely flying the flag of Guyana. This interception was followed by the interception of a second tanker, the Centuries tanker. This ship – unlike the first vessel – was not yet under official restrictions when it was taken into US custody. American agencies are currently pursuing a third such ship, which has been named by the risk management group a risk firm as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump stated yesterday that “we’ll end up getting it”. Writing on X, the TankerTrackers group noted the vessel Bella 1 has been “underway for 39 days” and, at an typical pace of 11 knots, may have “another 28 to 35 days of fuel left unless her speed drops”. The monitoring service further stated the tanker is “probably traveling south-east towards South Africa”.