Satellite Data Shows First Venezuelan Tanker Seized by US is Now Off the Texas Coast.

Orbital data and ship tracking information has confirmed that the crude carrier named Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the United States for allegedly transporting sanctioned crude from the Venezuelan regime – is currently off the coast of the state of Texas.

Vantor satellite imagery dated 21 December shows the ship is near the port of Galveston, while Automatic Identification System ship-tracking feeds from MarineTraffic currently places the Skipper about 80km offshore.

The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by American officials on 10 December and has been blacklisted by multiple nations. At the time it was intercepted, it was falsely flying the ensign of the nation of Guyana.

This interception was succeeded by the interception of a another oil vessel, the Centuries tanker. It – in contrast to the Skipper – was not under sanctions when it was brought under American control.

US authorities are currently pursuing a third such vessel, which has been identified by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1 tanker. President Donald Trump said recently 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 over a month” and, at an typical pace of 11 knots, may have “approximately a month of diesel remaining unless her velocity drops”.

The monitoring service added the tanker is “probably traveling south-east towards the South African coast”.