US-seized tanker carrying Venezuelan crude sails toward Houston: Report

The oil supertanker Skipper, seized by the US near Venezuela this week as part of an increased pressure strategy against President Nicolas Maduro, is heading to Houston, Reuters reported, citing two sources. The Very Large Crude Carrier is carrying about 1.85 million barrels of Venezuela’s Merey heavy crude, according to satellite images analysed by TankerTrackers.com. It is too large to transit through the Houston ship channel and will need to anchor nearby and offload the cargo to smaller ships, the port said. “At this time, we have not received any notifications or agent filings indicating that the M/V SKIPPER is scheduled to call the Port of Houston,” the Greater Houston Port Bureau’s President Eric Carrero said. Meanwhile, Supertankers, the largest class of vessels used to mo