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US agents boarding the deck of the Skipper on 10 December.
Orbital data and ship tracking information has verified that the crude carrier named Skipper – the initial vessel seized by the US for reportedly carrying embargoed crude from the Venezuelan regime – is currently positioned near of Texas.
Vantor orbital photographs from 21 December indicates the tanker is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while AIS ship-tracking feeds from a maritime data service presently positions the Skipper about 80km offshore.
The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by American officials on 10 December and has been blacklisted by multiple nations. When it was intercepted, it was incorrectly flying the ensign of the nation of Guyana.
This seizure was succeeded by the interception of a second oil vessel, the Centuries tanker. This ship – in contrast to the Skipper – was not under official restrictions when it was brought under American control.
US authorities are currently targeting a third vessel, which has been identified by the risk management group a risk firm as the Bella 1 tanker. President Donald Trump stated recently that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on X, the TankerTrackers group noted the Bella 1 has been “underway for over a month” and, at an average speed of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “approximately a month of fuel left unless her velocity decreases”.
The monitoring service added the tanker is “likely heading in a southeasterly direction towards South Africa”.
Elara is a passionate writer and innovation coach, sharing her expertise to help others unlock their creative potential.
Carl Goodwin
Carl Goodwin
Carl Goodwin
Carl Goodwin