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Orbital data and vessel monitoring information has verified that the crude carrier Skipper – the first vessel seized by the US for reportedly carrying sanctioned crude from Venezuela – is now positioned near of Texas.

A satellite firm's orbital photographs from 21 December shows the ship is near Galveston, while Automatic Identification System vessel-tracking data from MarineTraffic presently positions the Skipper about 80km from the coast.

The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by US authorities on 10 December and has been blacklisted by several nations. At the time it was intercepted, it was incorrectly flying the ensign of Guyana.

This interception was followed by the capture of a second oil vessel, the Centuries tanker. This ship – unlike the first vessel – was not yet under official restrictions when it was brought under American control.

US authorities are currently pursuing a third such ship, which has been identified by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump stated yesterday that “we’ll end up getting it”.

Writing on the social media platform X, the maritime monitoring group said the vessel Bella 1 has been “in transit for 39 days” and, at an average speed of 11 nautical miles per hour, may have “approximately a month of fuel left unless her speed decreases”.

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