The Iranian shadow fleet is still under pressure. Tankers stand from Gulf to Malaysia

The American blockade is increasingly hitting the transport of Iranian oil. According to the UNA report, dozens of oil tankers and merchant ships associated with Iran are on anchors from the Gulf to Malaysia, Pakistan, India and China.

On 4 June, a comprehensive report was published by United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), which shows the scale of the disturbance in shipping and the situation of Iranian tankers and merchant ships operating in the waters from the Gulf to Southeast Asia.

45 incidents in the sea since the beginning of the war

According to the authors of the report since the beginning of the war with Iran, 45 confirmed naval incidents involving merchant ships and offshore infrastructure in the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Ormuz and the Gulf of Oman have been reported.

The continuing threat affects shipping traffic throughout the region. Before the conflict broke out, the Ormuz Strait averaged about 138 ships a day. Data on maritime traffic, however, show that since the beginning of March more and more units have been waiting on both sides of the strait, and some shipowners are limiting the passage through this area due to the risk to maritime safety.

Freedom of movement dispute

The report also highlights the activities of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which announced the appointment of the so-called Persian Gulf Strait Authority. According to UANA, this structure would serve Iran to impose its own rules of movement by the Ormuz Strait.

This is particularly important because this route is an international strait. The report emphasises that an attempt to unilaterally restrict the passage through this water would be contrary to the principles of the law of the sea, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

On May 27, the U.S. Foreign Asset Control Office sanctioned PGSA.

What happens to Iranian tankers?

One of the most interesting conclusions of the report is the scale of activity of tankers carrying Iranian oil. According to UANA, at least 69 tankers loaded with Iranian hydrocarbons are currently inside the zone covered by the American blockade.

This is not only about oil, but also about petroleum products and LPG.

According to the authors of the report, it is particularly evident that units are gathering near Iran's main export terminals.

Tankers on Kharg Island

Satellite images taken on May 31 showed a large tanker cluster in the anchorage area of Kharg Island, which remains the most important export terminal of Iranian oil.

According to the report, 22 tankers were sighted there, of which at least 14 were loaded with Iranian hydrocarbons.

The authors of the document estimate that the accumulation of units may indicate growing difficulties in the implementation of oil exports, particularly to independent Chinese refineries.

Since the beginning of the conflict, UANI has recorded at least 85 loads of Iranian oil, of which 45 have taken place just off the island of Kharg. This would include approximately 88 million barrels of oil in total.

Chabahar and Jask full of waiting units

A similar situation exists outside the Persian Gulf.

In the Chabahar port area, satellite photos of June 2 showed 14 tankers, including 11 units flying the Iranian flag and three ships included in the shadow fleet. They were all supposed to be loaded with Iranian oil.

There were also 15 cargo ships nearby, most of them also flying the Iranian flag.

The report indicates that some tankers tried to leave the port and cross the blockade zone, but later returned to anchors.

Another cluster of units was recorded in the Jask port area. In early June, eight tankers were sighted there, six of them carrying Iranian oil.

Iranian ships are waiting from Pakistan to China

According to the UANI report under pressure of the American blockade is currently not only the Iranian tanker fleet, but also dozens commercial vessels operating on the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia routes.

Among other things, cargo ships were sighted near Karachi in Pakistan ARIES IMO number 9369722, MAHNAM (IMO 9213387), DELRUBA (IMO 9305207) and Value (IMO 9465849). STREAM tankers (IMO 9569633) also anchored in the same area, TEA (IMO 9362059), SOBAR (IMO 9221970) and SARAK (IMO 9226968). Container TOUSKA (IMO 9328900) remained at the anchorage about 16 kilometres from the port of Karachi.

In India, the container ship attracts attention ARTENOS (IMO 9283021), which remained at the anchorage in the Gulf of Kutch. There was a cargo ship in Mumbai ENZO 2 (IMO 9236652) and container ship AZARGOUN (IMO 9283019) entered to the terminal Nhava Sheva.

Some units continue to cruise between the Mediterranean Sea and Asia. Container carriers NORA (IMO 9259408) and ALOR 2 (IMO 9228538) who had previously left the Libyan port of Misrata, headed for Sri Lanka and Malaysia.

The report shall also mention the container ship ARTABAZ (IMO 928307), who was near the Maldives. For some time earlier, the unit broadcast the status of "Not Under Command" in the AIS, meaning the lack of normal maneuverability.

Malaysia continues to be the hub for the handling of Iranian oil

Much of the Iranian oil activity is still concentrated near Malaysia. Since the beginning of the conflict, UANI has recorded 69 ship-to-ship oil handling operations (STS) and five LPG transhipments at the Eastern Outer Port Limits (EOPL) anchorage off the coast of Malaysia.

According to the report on 4 June, there were 43 tankers in the EOPL area belonging to or related to the so-called shadow fleet. Many of them broadcast an AIS signal.

Iranian ships also remained in the same area subject to sanctions OFAC: bulk carriers ARVIN (IMO 9193202), MIMI PRIDE (IMO 9274941), BASCAR (IMO 9405942), ANDIA (IMO 9193197) and BAHJAT (IMO 9405954) and container ship AURA (IMO 9387815).

A container ship also entered the EOPL anchorage NYRA 2 (IMO 9241487) who had previously left the Libyan port of Misrata.

Ships also visible off the coast of China

Iranian vessels were also reported in Chinese waters. Container ships anchored near Zhuhai SHABDIS (IMO 9349588), SHABGOUN (IMO 9346524) and BEHNAVAZ (IMO 9346548).

There was a tanker south of Hong Kong. TOUR 2 (IMO 9364112), also known as CARIZ.

Further units were also identified in Chinese waters. A container ship remained in the Changjiangkou anchorage area near Shanghai. BEHTA (IMO 9349590), while the Yellow Sea, about 80 km from Yangcheng, a bulk ship BATIS (IMO 9465760).

Increasing pressure on Iranian maritime transport

The report also points to an increasing number of Iranian merchant ships awaiting anchors in Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Thailand, Maldives and near Chinese ports.

According to the authors of the document, some units remain awaiting further developments in the US blockade situation and limited access to Iranian ports.

Ormuz remains open, but is no longer an ordinary sea corridor. Ships continue to pass through the Strait, but increasingly do so in the shadow of blockade, sanctions and risks. The UANA report shows that tension does not stop at the entrance to the Persian Gulf. It is spreading further – on anchors in Pakistan, India, Malaysia and China, where the effects of pressure on Iran are increasingly visible maritime transport.

Source: United Against Nuclear Iran