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Orbital data and ship tracking information has confirmed that the crude carrier Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the United States for reportedly transporting embargoed oil from the Venezuelan regime – is now off the coast of the state of Texas.

Vantor satellite imagery dated 21 December shows the tanker is in the vicinity of Galveston, while AIS vessel-tracking data from a maritime data service 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 seized, it was falsely flying the flag of Guyana.

This interception was succeeded by the interception of a another oil vessel, the Centuries. This ship – in contrast to the first vessel – was not under official restrictions when it was brought under American control.

US authorities are currently pursuing a third ship, which has been identified by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1. The US President stated yesterday that “we’ll end up getting it”.

Writing on the social media platform X, the maritime monitoring group noted the Bella 1 has been “underway for 39 days” and, at an average speed of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “approximately a month of diesel remaining unless her speed decreases”.

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