🔗 Share this article Satellite Data Reveals Initial Venezuelan Oil Ship Confiscated by US is Now Near the Texas Coast. US personnel roped onto the vessel of the tanker Skipper on December 10th. Orbital data and ship tracking data has confirmed that the crude carrier Skipper – the first vessel seized by the US for reportedly carrying sanctioned oil from Venezuela – is now off the coast of the state of Texas. A satellite firm's orbital photographs dated 21 December shows the ship is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while AIS ship-tracking feeds from a maritime data service presently positions the Skipper about 80km offshore. The tanker Skipper was seized by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been sanctioned by several governments. When it was intercepted, it was incorrectly sailing under the flag of Guyana. This interception was followed by the interception of a another tanker, the Centuries. This ship – in contrast to the Skipper – was not under sanctions when it was brought under US custody. US authorities are currently targeting a third such ship, which has been identified by the maritime risk group a risk firm as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump said recently that “we’ll end up getting it”. Writing on the social media platform X, the TankerTrackers group said the vessel Bella 1 has been “underway for 39 days” and, at an average speed of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “another 28 to 35 days of diesel left unless her speed drops”. The monitoring service further stated the vessel is “likely heading in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.