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Satellite imagery and vessel monitoring information has confirmed that the oil tanker named Skipper – the initial vessel apprehended by the US for reportedly carrying sanctioned crude from Venezuela – is now off the coast of Texas.

A satellite firm's satellite imagery dated 21 December indicates the ship is in the vicinity of the port of Galveston, while AIS vessel-tracking feeds from a maritime data service presently positions the vessel about 80km offshore.

The tanker Skipper was taken into custody by American officials on 10 December and has been blacklisted by several nations. When it was seized, it was falsely flying the ensign of Guyana.

This interception was followed by the interception of a second tanker, the Centuries tanker. It – unlike the first vessel – was not yet under official restrictions when it was taken into US custody.

American agencies are now pursuing a third vessel, which has been identified by the risk management group Vanguard as the Bella 1. President Donald Trump said yesterday that “we’ll end up getting it”.

Writing on the social media platform X, the TankerTrackers group noted 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 diesel left unless her speed decreases”.

The monitoring service added the vessel is “probably heading south-east towards South Africa”.