🔗 Share this article Satellite Data Reveals First Venezuela-Linked Tanker Confiscated by US is Now Off the Texas Coast. US personnel boarding the vessel of the Skipper on 10 December. Orbital data and ship tracking information has confirmed that the crude carrier named Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the US for reportedly transporting sanctioned crude from the Venezuelan regime – is currently off the coast of Texas. A satellite firm's satellite imagery from 21 December indicates the ship is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking data from MarineTraffic presently places the Skipper about 50 miles from the coast. The tanker Skipper was seized by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by multiple nations. At the time it was seized, it was incorrectly sailing under the ensign of Guyana. This seizure was followed by the interception of a second tanker, the Centuries. This ship – unlike the Skipper – was not under sanctions when it was taken into American control. American agencies are now targeting a third ship, which has been identified by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. The US President stated recently that “we’ll end up getting it”. Writing on X, the TankerTrackers group noted 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 decreases”. The group further stated the vessel is “likely heading south-east towards South Africa”.