Iranian 'Ghost Fleet' Tankers Are Slipping Past the U.S. Blockade to Reach China, a Watchdog Group Says, and It Filmed One
United Against Nuclear Iran says at least nine small tankers have breached the blockade since July. It says the SOGL carried about 500,000 barrels of Iranian gas to China. The group also says the blockade has stopped Iranian crude exports.
An advocacy group says it filmed an Iranian "ghost fleet" tanker that got past the U.S. naval blockade and delivered sanctioned fuel to China, Fox News reports.
What was filmed. United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) says investigators covertly filmed the tanker SOGL in September at an offshore anchorage near Malaysia. UANI says the ship loaded about 500,000 barrels of Iranian liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in August, escaped the blockade Sept. 1 and later discharged its cargo at Xinzhou Port in China. The group says at least nine similar small tankers have gotten out of the Gulf of Oman with Iranian oil or LPG since the blockade was reinstated in mid-July.
How they do it. Senior analyst Jemima Shelley told Fox that these vessels turn off their transponders, fly false flags and are run by complicated front companies. She said LPG is a risky cargo, so U.S. forces mainly try to turn ships around rather than use force. The Malaysian anchorage, about 70 kilometers off the coast, serves as a staging point for ship-to-ship transfers, floating storage and supplies, and she said local authorities appear to be "looking the other way." Fox says the U.S. Treasury added the SOGL to its sanctions list Oct. 8.
The other side of the ledger. Shelley called the blockade "an overwhelming success" at stopping vessels loaded with Iranian oil and petrochemicals. She said no Iranian crude has been successfully exported since the blockade resumed, and that floating storage has fallen to between zero and seven million barrels. She called the tankers that get through "opportunistic" small operators, and said the overall scale is small next to Iran's past exports. Fox says China took about 80% of Iran's liquid cargo exports for years and now takes almost all of them, according to Shelley.
Background from Fox. The blockade began April 13, was lifted briefly in mid-June and was reinstated July 14 after talks collapsed.
What to keep in mind. The claims come from UANI, an advocacy group that supports tougher pressure on Iran, and the footage was shared exclusively with Fox. We have not seen the video. Fox says it asked U.S. Central Command for comment and had not received a reply.