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Orbital data and vessel monitoring information has confirmed that the oil tanker named Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the US for allegedly transporting sanctioned crude from the Venezuelan regime – is now 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 vessel-tracking data from a maritime data service currently positions the vessel about 80km offshore.

The Skipper was taken into custody by American officials on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by several governments. At the time it was seized, it was falsely flying the flag of Guyana.

This interception was followed by the interception of a second oil vessel, the Centuries tanker. This ship – in contrast to the first vessel – was not under sanctions when it was brought under US custody.

American agencies are now pursuing a third vessel, which has been named by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. The US President said yesterday that “we’ll end up getting it”.

Writing on X, the maritime monitoring group said the vessel Bella 1 has been “in transit for over a month” and, at an typical pace of 11 knots, may have “approximately a month of fuel remaining unless her velocity drops”.

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