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Orbital data and vessel monitoring information has verified that the oil tanker Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the US for reportedly carrying sanctioned oil from Venezuela – is now positioned near of Texas.

Vantor satellite imagery from 21 December shows the tanker is near the port of Galveston, while AIS vessel-tracking feeds from MarineTraffic presently places the vessel about 80km offshore.

The Skipper was taken into custody by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been sanctioned by several nations. When it was seized, it was incorrectly flying the flag of the nation of Guyana.

This interception was succeeded by the capture of a another tanker, the Centuries. It – in contrast to the first vessel – was not under sanctions when it was taken into US custody.

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

Writing on the social media platform X, the TankerTrackers group noted the vessel 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 remaining unless her speed drops”.

The group added the tanker is “probably traveling in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.