Satellite Data Reveals Initial Venezuelan Tanker Confiscated by American Authorities is Currently Off Texas.

Orbital data and ship tracking data has verified that the crude carrier named Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the US for reportedly transporting sanctioned crude from the Venezuelan regime – is currently positioned near of Texas.

Vantor satellite imagery from 21 December indicates the tanker is near Galveston, while AIS vessel-tracking data from MarineTraffic presently places the Skipper about 80km from the coast.

The tanker Skipper was seized by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by multiple governments. When it was intercepted, it was falsely sailing under the flag of Guyana.

This interception was followed by the capture of a second tanker, the Centuries. This ship – unlike the first vessel – was not yet under sanctions when it was taken into American control.

American agencies are currently targeting a third ship, which has been identified by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. President Donald Trump said yesterday that “it will ultimately be secured”.

Writing on the social media platform X, the maritime monitoring group noted the vessel Bella 1 has been “in transit for 39 days” and, at an typical pace of 11 knots, may have “approximately a month of fuel remaining unless her velocity drops”.

The group added the tanker is “probably heading south-east towards South Africa”.