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Orbital data and vessel monitoring information has confirmed that the crude carrier named Skipper – the first vessel seized by the US for allegedly transporting sanctioned oil from Venezuela – is now off the coast of the state of Texas.

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

The tanker Skipper was seized by American officials on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by several governments. When it was seized, it was incorrectly sailing under the flag of Guyana.

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

American agencies are currently targeting a third ship, which has been identified by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. The US President stated 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 39 days” and, at an typical pace of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “approximately a month of fuel remaining unless her velocity decreases”.

The group added the vessel is “probably traveling south-east towards South Africa”.