UANI estimates Iranian LPG shipments at 4.1 million barrels — Jerusalem Post
Since mid-July, Iran has managed to ship out part of its liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and jet fuel despite the US naval blockade. According to the Jerusalem Post, at least eight tankers carrying Iranian LPG left the Gulf of Oman, while a tanker with Iranian jet fuel arrived in Myanmar in September.
Transshipments near Oman
US organization United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), which tracks tanker movements using shipping and satellite data, estimated the total volume of LPG cargoes at about 4.1 million barrels. Six of the eight gas tankers, as well as the vessel carrying jet fuel, are under US sanctions for transporting Iranian petroleum products and petrochemical products.
According to UANI senior analyst Jemima Shelley, some tankers transferred cargo near the Omani cities of Shinas and Sohar, while others waited in the Gulf of Oman before passing through the blockade area. Most vessels were heading to the eastern outer port limits of Malaysia for further transshipments; the likely final destination of the cargoes was China.
Shelley described these shipments as more of an expression of opportunism than a sign of a new sustainable Iranian strategy to export oil and petrochemical products using smaller vessels. Iranian authorities did not respond to a request for comment, nor did Myanmar’s military government regarding the possible receipt of jet fuel.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
US position on the blockade
US Central Command stated that the naval blockade is completely effective. It was first imposed on April 13 on Iranian oil exports, lifted in June after a draft agreement with Tehran was reached, and reinstated on July 14 after it collapsed.
A US military official told Reuters that a vessel’s passage does not necessarily mean it bypassed the blockade: each vessel is assessed individually, including checks of documents, and some may be allowed to pass for humanitarian reasons. According to CENTCOM data as of October 13, during the three months of the latest phase of the blockade, US forces disabled four commercial vessels and forced 135 ships to change course.
A US Treasury Department spokesperson questioned data that could indicate the blockade had been bypassed, noting that vessels can falsify location data or use false identification data during loading. At the same time, Kpler reported that Iranian crude oil exports fell to zero in September, for the first time since it began monitoring the producer in 2013.
