Iranian Supertanker Evades U.S. Blockade with $220 Million Oil

Darwin, 03 May: An Iranian supertanker carrying oil worth approximately $220 million has reportedly reached the Asia-Pacific region after evading a strict blockade imposed by the United States Navy.

According to ship-tracking firm TankerTrackers.com, the massive vessel—named Huge and owned by the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC)—is transporting around 1.9 million barrels of crude oil.

In a post on social media platform X, TankerTrackers stated that the vessel was last spotted over a week ago near the coast of Sri Lanka. It is now reportedly passing through Indonesia’s Lombok Strait and heading toward the Riau Islands.

The firm also noted that the tanker was within Iranian waters on April 13, when the U.S. Navy announced its blockade of Iranian ports. Earlier, after departing from the Strait of Malacca toward Iran on March 20, the vessel had switched off its Automatic Identification System (AIS), making it difficult to track its movements.

On April 29, Iranian state media claimed that at least 52 of its ships had successfully bypassed the U.S. blockade. However, the U.S. military stated that since the blockade began, it has forced at least 41 Iran-linked vessels to change course.

U.S. officials argue that the blockade is proving effective, causing Iran billions of dollars in losses. According to Washington, restrictions on Iranian ports are preventing the country from exporting oil, and once storage capacity is exhausted, Iran may be forced to halt production.

Source: Al Jazeera