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Orbital data and ship tracking data has verified that the crude carrier named Skipper – the first vessel seized by the US for allegedly carrying embargoed crude from Venezuela – is now off the coast of the state of Texas.

Vantor satellite imagery dated 21 December indicates the ship is in the vicinity of Galveston, while AIS vessel-tracking data from MarineTraffic presently places the vessel about 80km from the coast.

The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by American officials on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by multiple governments. At the time it was seized, it was incorrectly flying the ensign of the nation of Guyana.

This seizure was followed by the capture of a another tanker, the Centuries tanker. This ship – unlike the first vessel – was not under sanctions when it was brought under US custody.

American agencies are currently targeting a third vessel, which has been identified by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump said yesterday that “it will ultimately be secured”.

Writing on the social media platform X, the maritime monitoring group noted the Bella 1 has been “underway for over a month” and, at an average speed of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “approximately a month of diesel left unless her speed drops”.

The monitoring service further stated the vessel is “probably heading in a southeasterly direction towards South Africa”.