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2026-07-14 12:16:12
[Iran Rushes to Ship Crude Oil Before Lockdown Resumption, Successfully Exporting 57 Million Barrels Between Two Blockades] 1. Before the US announced the reimposition of port blockades on Iran, Iran secretly smuggled a large amount of crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz in recent days. Ship tracking data shows that in the past week, six very large crude carriers (VLCCs) sanctioned by the US transited the Strait of Hormuz into the Gulf of Oman with their Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponders turned off, carrying a total of approximately 12 million barrels of crude oil. These tankers included the supertanker "Humanity," carrying approximately 2 million barrels of Iranian crude oil, and the "Captain Andreas," carrying approximately 500,000 barrels of Kuwaiti petroleum products. 2. These six tankers, along with other vessels linked to Iran, completed their voyages after the US revoked its temporary permit for Iranian crude oil sales on July 7. The US Treasury Department issued a 60-day waiver on June 21, allowing Iran to temporarily export oil, but the waiver was revoked after only 15 days. Final transactions were allowed to extend until midnight on July 17. 3. In addition to the six oil tankers mentioned above, a large number of Iranian-related vessels under US sanctions have also left the Strait of Hormuz since July 7. These vessels are part of the 57 million barrels of crude oil that Iran successfully exported between the two rounds of US naval blockades. Between the two blockades, Iran's daily crude oil exports averaged at least 2.2 million barrels, a relatively high level by recent standards. 4. Data shows that all six cargo ships that transited the strait on July 12 turned off their transponders; in the preceding three days, the number of "secret ships" navigating with their transponders off even exceeded the number of ships openly passing through. Some ships were still on one side of the strait when they last sent a signal, but reappeared on the other side, indicating that they completed the transit with their transponders off. Only six ships passed through the strait on July 12, marking the lowest number in five weeks.
