Lights out: How Iran quietly moved millions of barrels through Hormuz under America's nose
Iran is reportedly moving millions of barrels of oil through the Strait of Hormuz using 'dark' tankers with transponders turned off to bypass US sanctions. This activity occurs as tensions rise and the US prepares to reimpose a blockade on Iranian ports.
Why it matters
The evasion of sanctions and the potential for a blockade in a critical maritime chokepoint pose significant risks to global energy markets and regional security.
As the conflict between the US and Iran escalates, supertankers are quietly transiting through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has continued moving oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz in recent days, even before the United States announced that it would reinstate a blockade on Iranian ports amid escalating hostilities.Over the past several days, these so-called dark transits have been more than the number of publicly visible voyages. Even so, the growing number of attacks on ships by both Iran and the US has made passage through the waterway increasingly hazardous.How Iran is moving shipsAccording to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg, six US-sanctioned supertankers with a carrying capacity of 12 million barrels of crude combined have crossed the Strait of Hormuz into the Gulf of Oman over the past week while keeping their transponders switched off.These vessels, along with other ships linked to Iran, made the voyage after Washington withdrew…
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