🔗 Share this article Imagery Image Reveals Initial Venezuelan Oil Ship Confiscated by US is Now Near Texas. US agents boarding the vessel of the Skipper on December 10th. Orbital data and vessel monitoring data has confirmed that the crude carrier Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the US for reportedly carrying sanctioned oil from Venezuela – is currently off the coast of Texas. Vantor orbital photographs from 21 December indicates the ship is in the vicinity of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking data from a maritime data service currently places the Skipper about 50 miles offshore. The Skipper was seized by American officials on 10 December and has been blacklisted by several nations. When it was seized, it was falsely flying the flag of Guyana. This seizure was succeeded by the interception of a another tanker, the Centuries. This ship – in contrast to the first vessel – was not under official restrictions when it was taken into US custody. American agencies are now pursuing a third such ship, which has been named by the risk management group a risk firm as the Bella 1 tanker. President Donald Trump said yesterday that “it will ultimately be secured”. Writing on the social media platform X, the TankerTrackers 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 left unless her velocity drops”. The group further stated the vessel is “likely heading south-east towards South Africa”.