Iran is bypassing the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz by exporting oil from one of its eastern ports, new analysis suggests.
Seven very large crude carriers (VLCCs) were detected near Iran’s port of Chabahar – in the Gulf of Oman, east of the narrow shipping channel – on April 19, according to data company Windward.
Windward also detected a ship-to-ship transfer, whereby a cargo is moved from one ship to another at sea, between two smaller tankers offshore from the port.
Altogether, these tankers have the capacity to export 14 million barrels of oil between them, equivalent to about 10 days’ worth of Iran’s pre-war oil exports.
Their presence suggests that Iran is turning to new routes to sell its oil to get around the US naval blockade, Windward said. The firm said it could also be because the vessels are unable to re-enter the Gulf.
Since April 13, Donald Trump has said that American ships would intercept or turn back vessels travelling to or from Iran’s coast as the US president tries to stop Iran from profiting from its own blockade of the strait.
Iran continued to trade its own oil out of the strait, as well as charging other countries fees for safe passage via what has become known as the “Tehran toll booth”.
US Central Command said on Sunday that an American destroyer in the northern Arabian Sea had fired several rounds on an Iranian-flagged vessel, which was later boarded and taken into custody by US marines.
American forces have directed an additional 25 commercial vessels to turn around in the last week.
The tankers gathering near the port of Chabahar have been concealing their shipping signals and are much further east than where the US navy is focused.
Windward said this suggests that Iran is developing alternative export pathways – or that the tankers could also be gathering because they were struggling to get back into the Gulf.
The data came as separate figures from Lloyd’s List Intelligence showed that as many as 26 shadow-fleet vessels – including oil and gas tankers – have sailed in and out of Iranian ports since the US blockade began.
Overall transits through the Strait of Hormuz plunged on Sunday, with just two ships travelling through the shipping lane, down from 22 on Saturday and the lowest since the US blockade began.