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Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring data has verified that the oil tanker named Skipper – the first vessel seized by the United States for allegedly carrying embargoed oil from the Venezuelan regime – is currently off the coast of the state of Texas.

A satellite firm's satellite imagery from 21 December shows the tanker is near the port of Galveston, while AIS ship-tracking feeds from a maritime data service currently positions the Skipper about 80km from the coast.

The Skipper was seized by US authorities on 10 December and has been sanctioned by several nations. When it was seized, it was incorrectly flying the ensign of Guyana.

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

US authorities are currently 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 the social media platform X, the maritime monitoring group noted the Bella 1 has been “underway for over a month” and, at an average speed of 11 knots, may have “approximately a month of fuel remaining unless her speed drops”.

The monitoring service further stated the vessel is “probably heading south-east towards South Africa”.