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Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring data has confirmed that the oil tanker named Skipper – the first vessel apprehended by the US for reportedly carrying sanctioned oil from Venezuela – is now positioned near of the state of Texas.

A satellite firm's orbital photographs from 21 December indicates the tanker is in the vicinity of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking data from a maritime data service presently places the Skipper about 80km from the coast.

The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by US authorities on the tenth of December and has been blacklisted by multiple governments. At the time it was intercepted, it was falsely flying the flag of the nation of Guyana.

This interception was followed by the interception of a another oil vessel, the Centuries tanker. This ship – unlike the first vessel – was not under sanctions when it was taken into American control.

American agencies are now targeting a third such ship, which has been identified by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump stated recently that “we’ll end up getting it”.

Writing on X, the TankerTrackers group said the vessel Bella 1 has been “underway for over a month” and, at an average speed of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “approximately a month of diesel remaining unless her speed decreases”.

The monitoring service further stated the tanker is “likely heading in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.