Iran slips fuel shipments past American naval blockade, tracking shows

Iran has succeeded in moving limited volumes of liquefied petroleum gas and aviation fuel past an American maritime blockade since July, according to tanker tracking data and maritime security sources reported by Reuters.

To bypass the naval cordon, Iranian operators have disguised shipments among the growing number of vessel-to-vessel transfers conducted by other regional energy producers off the coast of Oman. While representing only a tiny fraction of the country's former export volumes, the movements offer a rare glimpse of refined fuels slipping through an operation that has otherwise brought Iranian crude exports to an unprecedented standstill.

Tracking information compiled by United Against Nuclear Iran, an advocacy organization that monitors commercial fleets via satellite, identified at least eight vessels carrying Iranian liquefied petroleum gas leaving the Gulf of Oman since mid-July. Jemima Shelley, a senior research analyst with the group, stated that these shipments carried an estimated 4.1 million barrels. Shelley characterized the operations as opportunistic maneuvers rather than a systematic pivot toward smaller transport vessels.

Most of these gas shipments initially transferred supplies near Omani coastal waters or waited in the Gulf before journeying onward to waters off eastern Malaysia for subsequent transfers, with China viewed as the probable end consumer. Separately, satellite evaluation by maritime intelligence firm SynMax revealed that another tanker transported Iranian jet fuel directly to Myanmar in September. Six of the gas carriers and the aviation fuel tanker are already under sanctions by the United States.

United States Central Command, which reinstated the naval blockade in mid-July following a breakdown in bilateral negotiations, maintains that its enforcement across the Gulf of Oman remains firm. The military command reported earlier this month that American units had turned back 135 ships and disabled four commercial vessels over the previous three months.

An American military official told Reuters that individual vessel movements are assessed on a case-by-case basis and that the passage of a ship does not automatically represent a breach of the blockade. Some ships are permitted through for humanitarian considerations, while others remain under surveillance without immediate interdiction due to operational factors.

A spokesperson for the United States Treasury Department voiced skepticism regarding commercial tracking information, cautioning that vessels frequently falsify their identities or transmit manipulated location signals. The spokesperson emphasized that Washington's combined sanctions and maritime measures are severely restricting Iranian state revenues. Data from analytics provider Kpler indicated that Iran's crude oil shipments dropped to zero in September, marking the first complete cessation since the tracking company began recording Iranian export flows in 2013.

Analysts note that deteriorating domestic finances may drive Tehran to pursue riskier maritime strategies, with surplus refined fuels such as jet propellant offering one of the few viable avenues for international sales under intense economic pressure.