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Satellite imagery and ship tracking information has confirmed that the crude carrier Skipper – the first vessel seized by the United States for allegedly carrying sanctioned crude from the Venezuelan regime – is currently 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 Automatic Identification System ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic presently positions the Skipper about 80km from the coast.

The tanker Skipper was seized by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been sanctioned by several nations. At the time it was intercepted, it was falsely flying the ensign of the nation of Guyana.

This seizure was followed by the interception of a another oil vessel, the Centuries tanker. This ship – unlike the first vessel – was not yet under official restrictions when it was taken into American control.

American agencies are currently targeting a third ship, which has been named by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1. The US President said recently that “it will ultimately be secured”.

Writing on X, the maritime monitoring group noted the vessel Bella 1 has been “in transit for over a month” and, at an typical pace of 11 knots, may have “another 28 to 35 days of fuel left unless her velocity drops”.

The group further stated the tanker is “probably traveling in a southeasterly direction towards South Africa”.