US agents roped onto the vessel of the Skipper on December 10th.
Orbital data and vessel monitoring data has verified that the oil tanker Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the United States for allegedly carrying embargoed oil from the Venezuelan regime – is currently positioned near of the state of Texas.
A satellite firm's satellite imagery from 21 December shows the ship is near Galveston, while AIS vessel-tracking feeds from a maritime data service currently places the Skipper about 80km from the coast.
The tanker Skipper was seized by American officials on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by multiple nations. At the time it was intercepted, it was incorrectly flying the ensign of Guyana.
This interception was followed by the interception of a another oil vessel, the Centuries tanker. It – in contrast to the Skipper – was not under sanctions when it was taken into American control.
American agencies are currently targeting a third vessel, which has been identified by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. President Donald Trump stated recently that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on the social media platform X, the TankerTrackers group said the Bella 1 has been “underway for over a month” and, at an typical pace of 11 knots, may have “approximately a month of fuel left unless her speed decreases”.
The group added the tanker is “probably traveling south-east towards South Africa”.
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