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Orbital data and vessel monitoring data has confirmed that the crude carrier Skipper – the first vessel seized by the US for allegedly carrying embargoed crude from Venezuela – is currently positioned near of the state of Texas.

Vantor satellite imagery from 21 December indicates the ship is near Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking data from a maritime data service currently places the Skipper about 80km from the coast.

The Skipper was taken into custody by American officials on the tenth of December and has been sanctioned by several governments. At the time it was intercepted, it was falsely sailing under the flag of the nation of Guyana.

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

US authorities are currently pursuing a third such vessel, which has been named by the risk management group a risk firm as the Bella 1. The US President said recently that “it will ultimately be secured”.

Writing on X, the maritime monitoring 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 “approximately a month of fuel left unless her speed decreases”.

The group further stated the vessel is “probably heading in a southeasterly direction towards the South African coast”.