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Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring information has verified that the crude carrier Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the United States for reportedly transporting sanctioned oil from the Venezuelan regime – is currently positioned near of the state of Texas.

Vantor orbital photographs dated 21 December shows the tanker is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic currently places the Skipper about 80km offshore.

The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by American officials on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by several nations. When it was intercepted, it was falsely sailing under the ensign of the nation of Guyana.

This interception was followed by the interception of a second oil vessel, the Centuries tanker. It – unlike the Skipper – was not under official restrictions when it was brought under US custody.

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

Writing on the social media platform X, the TankerTrackers group said the Bella 1 has been “in transit for 39 days” and, at an average speed of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “approximately a month of fuel left unless her speed decreases”.

The group added the tanker is “likely traveling south-east towards the South African coast”.