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Orbital data and vessel monitoring information has confirmed that the crude carrier named Skipper – the first vessel seized by the United States for allegedly transporting sanctioned crude from Venezuela – is currently off the coast of Texas.

A satellite firm's orbital photographs dated 21 December indicates the ship is near the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking feeds from MarineTraffic currently positions the Skipper about 80km offshore.

The Skipper was taken into custody by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by multiple governments. When it was intercepted, it was falsely flying the ensign of Guyana.

This interception was followed by the interception of a another tanker, the Centuries tanker. It – unlike the first vessel – was not under official restrictions when it was brought under American control.

American agencies are currently pursuing a third such ship, which has been identified by the risk management group a risk firm as the Bella 1 tanker. President Donald Trump stated recently that “it will ultimately be secured”.

Writing on the social media platform X, the TankerTrackers group noted the Bella 1 has been “in transit for over a month” and, at an average speed of 11 knots, may have “approximately a month of diesel left unless her speed drops”.

The group further stated the tanker is “probably heading south-east towards South Africa”.