🔗 Share this article Satellite Image Reveals Initial Venezuelan Oil Ship Confiscated by US is Currently Off the Texas Coast. American agents roped onto the deck of the Skipper on 10 December. Orbital data and vessel monitoring data has verified that the oil tanker Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the United States for reportedly carrying sanctioned oil from the Venezuelan regime – is currently positioned near of the state of Texas. A satellite firm's orbital photographs dated 21 December shows the ship 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 Skipper was taken into custody 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 flag of the nation of Guyana. This seizure was succeeded by the interception of a another oil vessel, the Centuries tanker. This ship – in contrast to the first vessel – was not under sanctions when it was brought under US custody. American agencies are currently targeting a third ship, which has been named by the maritime risk group Vanguard as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump stated yesterday that “it will ultimately be secured”. Writing on X, the TankerTrackers group said the Bella 1 has been “underway for over a month” and, at an typical pace of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “approximately a month of fuel remaining unless her velocity decreases”. The group added the vessel is “probably heading in a southeasterly direction towards South Africa”.