🔗 Share this article Imagery Image Reveals Initial Venezuela-Linked Oil Ship Seized by American Authorities is Currently Off the Texas Coast. US personnel boarding the deck of the Skipper on December 10th. Satellite imagery and ship tracking information has verified that the oil tanker named Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the US for allegedly carrying embargoed crude from Venezuela – is currently positioned near of the state of Texas. A satellite firm's orbital photographs from 21 December shows the tanker is in the vicinity of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking feeds from MarineTraffic presently positions the vessel about 80km from the coast. The tanker Skipper was seized by US authorities on 10 December and has been sanctioned by multiple governments. At the time it was seized, it was incorrectly sailing under the ensign of Guyana. This seizure was succeeded by the interception of a second tanker, the Centuries. This ship – in contrast to the Skipper – was not under sanctions when it was brought under American control. American agencies are currently pursuing a third vessel, which has been identified by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. President Donald Trump stated recently that “it will ultimately be secured”. Writing on X, the maritime monitoring group said the vessel Bella 1 has been “underway for over a month” and, at an average speed of 11 knots, may have “approximately a month of fuel remaining unless her velocity drops”. The monitoring service further stated the vessel is “probably traveling south-east towards the South African coast”.