🔗 Share this article Satellite Data Reveals First Venezuela-Linked Tanker Seized by American Authorities is Currently Off the Texas Coast. US agents roped onto the deck of the tanker Skipper on 10 December. Orbital data and vessel monitoring data has confirmed that the oil tanker named Skipper – the first vessel seized by the US for allegedly carrying sanctioned crude from the Venezuelan regime – is now off the coast of Texas. Vantor orbital photographs dated 21 December shows the tanker is in the vicinity of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic currently positions the vessel about 50 miles from the coast. The Skipper was seized by US authorities on 10 December and has been sanctioned by several governments. When it was intercepted, it was incorrectly sailing under the ensign of Guyana. This seizure was succeeded by the interception of a another tanker, the Centuries. This ship – unlike the first vessel – was not under official restrictions when it was taken into US custody. American agencies are now targeting a third such ship, which has been named by the maritime risk group a risk firm as the Bella 1. 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 over a month” and, at an typical pace of 11 knots, may have “approximately a month of diesel left unless her speed decreases”. The group added the vessel is “likely traveling south-east towards the South African coast”.