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Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring information has confirmed that the oil tanker named Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the United States for reportedly transporting sanctioned crude from the Venezuelan regime – is now positioned near of the state of Texas.

Vantor orbital photographs from 21 December shows the tanker is in the vicinity of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking feeds from MarineTraffic currently positions the vessel about 50 miles offshore.

The Skipper was seized by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by several governments. When it was seized, it was incorrectly flying the ensign of the nation of Guyana.

This interception was followed by the capture of a another tanker, the Centuries tanker. This ship – in contrast to the Skipper – was not under official restrictions when it was taken into American control.

American agencies are currently targeting a third vessel, which has been named by the maritime risk group a risk firm as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump said recently that “we’ll end up getting it”.

Writing on X, the TankerTrackers group said the vessel Bella 1 has been “in transit for over a month” and, at an average speed of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “another 28 to 35 days of fuel remaining unless her speed drops”.

The group further stated the vessel is “likely heading south-east towards South Africa”.