BBC Verify: Satellite image shows first Venezuela-linked tanker seized by US is now off Texas
Where is the seized oil tanker Skipper now?published at 10:36 GMT
Kayleen Devlin and Joshua Cheetham
BBC Verify
Image source, US Attorney GeneralImage caption,
US personnel roped onto the deck of the Skipper on 10 December
Satellite imagery and ship tracking data has confirmed the oil tanker Skipper – the first vessel seized by the US for allegedly transporting sanctioned oil from Venezuela – is now off the coast of Texas.
Vantor satellite imagery dated 21 December shows the tanker is near Galveston while AIS ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic currently places Skipper about 80km (50 miles) offshore.
Skipper was seized by US authorities on 10 December and has been sanctioned by several governments. At the time it was seized it was falsely sailing under the flag of Guyana.
The seizure was followed by the interception of a second tanker, Centuries. It – unlike Skipper – was not under sanctions when it was taken into US custody.
US authorities are now pursuing a third vessel which has been identified by the risk management group Vanguard as Bella 1. President Donald Trump said yesterday that “we’ll end up getting it”.
Writing on X, the TankerTrackers group said Bella 1 has been “in transit for 39 days” and, at an average speed of 11 knots, may have “another 28 to 35 days of fuel remaining unless her speed drops”.
It added the vessel is “likely heading south-east towards South Africa”.
