What we know about the oil tanker seized by the US off the Venezuela coast

The Skipper, a tanker sanctioned by the US in 2022, is thought to have been carrying 1.1m barrels of Venezuelan oil

The US has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, a ship that was previously sanctioned by the US in 2022 while sailing under another name, in a dramatic operation that further ratchets up tensions between the Trump administration and the government of Venezuela's president, Nicolas Maduro.

Over recent months the US has built up the largest military presence in the region in decades, which includes the USS Gerald R Ford, the world's newest and largest aircraft carrier. It has more than 4,000 sailors, plus fighter jets and accompanying warships.