The oil supertanker Skipper, seized by the US near Venezuela this week, is now heading to Houston, Reuters reported, citing two sources. The ship carries about 1.85 million barrels of Venezuela’s Merey heavy crude, according to satellite images analysed by TankerTrackers.com. The tanker is too large to enter the Houston ship channel and will need to anchor nearby to offload cargo onto smaller ships, the port said. Eric Carrero, President of the Greater Houston Port Bureau, said, "At this time, we have not received any notifications or agent filings indicating that the M/V SKIPPER is scheduled to call the Port of Houston." Meanwhile, data shows Supertankers loaded at Venezuela’s government-controlled port of Jose carried almost 880,000 barrels a day of crude oil up to last Friday. This is an increase from an average of 586,000 barrels a day in November. This increased activity follows the US seizure of the Skipper tanker, part of a pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to cut off his oil revenue and force him to leave power. The key question is if other ships will risk leaving Venezuelan waters and face seizure by the US. At the same time, the US renewed Chevron Corp.’s licence to keep operating in Venezuela, revealing the complex US position. US Attorney General Pam Bondi said the tanker was intercepted and held under a seizure warrant. Guyana’s maritime authority said the Skipper was falsely flying its flag. The seizure of the sanctioned tanker has sharply raised tensions between Washington and Caracas. Sources said the US is preparing to seize more ships carrying Venezuelan oil.