Iran ships some LPG and jet fuel past US naval blockade, shipping data shows

Right · 2Iran has exported some liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and jet fuel since July despite a US naval blockade, according to Reuters reporting based on shipping intelligence and people involved in maritime security. 1 2 Right · 1Four maritime security people who track Gulf oil movements told Reuters that Tehran has in recent weeks been concealing such cargoes among a growing volume of ship-to-ship transfers by other Gulf producers off Oman. 3 Right · 1Analysis by the US advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) shows at least eight gas tankers carrying Iranian LPG have left the Gulf of Oman since mid-July, with total cargoes estimated at 4.1 million barrels. 1

Right · 1Most cargoes sailed to Malaysia's Eastern Outer Port Limits for further ship-to-ship transfers, with likely destinations in China, according to UANI's analysis. 2 Right · 1Satellite imagery and analysis by maritime intelligence group SynMax show another tanker carrying Iranian jet fuel reached Myanmar in September; Myanmar's military-backed government did not respond to a request for comment, nor did the Iranian government. 1 Right · 1A Reuters analysis found six of the eight gas tankers and the jet fuel tanker are under US sanctions for transporting Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products. 3

Right · 1UANI's Jemima Shelley said the overwhelming majority of tankers laden with Iranian products have been redirected by US forces, and that the shipments reflected "more by opportunism" than a new trend of using smaller ships. 2 Right · 2The cargoes are a fraction of Iran's former energy exports and are described as rare evidence of petroleum products getting through a blockade that has halted its crude exports; Kpler says crude exports fell to zero in September, the first such month since it began tracking in 2013. 1 3 Right · 1The US military's Centcom calls the blockade, first imposed on April 13, "ironclad"; it was lifted in June after a draft understanding with Iran and reimposed on July 14 after the agreement collapsed. 1

Right · 1Centcom said on October 13 that in the latest three months of the blockade, four commercial vessels had been disabled and 135 ships turned around. 3 Right · 1A US military official said a vessel's passage does not necessarily mean it evaded the blockade, since each ship is assessed individually and some may pass for humanitarian reasons or be monitored without action. 2 Right · 2A US Treasury spokesperson questioned the shipping data, saying ships can spoof locations or use false identities and that the data "should be taken with a grain of salt", and said Operation Economic Outcast and the blockade were "suffocating the Iranian regime"; last week the US sanctioned 17 more vessels. 1 3

Right · 1Torbjorn Soltvedt of Verisk Maplecroft said there is no sign Washington is easing the blockade, but worsening economic conditions could push Tehran to take greater risks, with jet fuel a possible option given grounded planes and a potential surplus at refineries. 2