Small Iranian "ghost fleet" tankers are slipping past the U.S. naval blockade and smuggling sanctioned liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to China through a shadowy maritime hub off Malaysia, according to U.S. investigators who covertly filmed one of the vessels en route in September. United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), which conducted the months-long probe, said at least nine similar tankers carrying Iranian oil or LPG have also evaded U.S. restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz since Washington reinstated the Iranian port blockade in July. UANI identified one of the sanctioned tankers as the SOGL.
It allegedly escaped the blockade on Sept. 1 carrying approximately 500,000 barrels of Iranian LPG after collecting it at an Iranian port in August. The vessel then traveled thousands of miles to a Malaysian offshore anchorage, where UANI filmed the vessel receiving fuel and other services offshore. The ship then traveled on to China, where the organization said it discharged its Iranian cargo.
IRAN’S $800M OIL SMUGGLING SCHEME USES TANKERS POSING AS IRAQI SHIPS TO DODGE BLOCKADE "This tanker had loaded its Iranian LPG from Assaluyeh Port, Iran, in late August. It then breached the U.S. blockade and made its way to a Malaysian anchorage," Jemima Shelley, a senior analyst at UANI, explained. "What this shows us is that some vessels are managing to breach the U.S. maritime blockade," Shelley said of the footage shared exclusively with Fox News Digital.
"Most vessels aren't, but since the reinstatement in mid-July, we have seen only nine small tankers being successful in their breach of the U.S. blockade and departing the Gulf of Oman laden with oil or LPG." At the center of the operation is the Malaysian Eastern Outer Port Limits Anchorage, known as the EOPL, an offshore shipping area approximately 70 kilometers from Malaysia’s coastline. The anchorage has become a critical staging ground for Iran’s sanctioned energy trade with China, Shelley said. The area allows vessels to wait offshore, receive supplies and transfer cargo between tankers, providing a logistical lifeline for Iranian energy exports as American naval forces patrol waters closer to Iran.
UANI had been monitoring the SOGL before its arrival in Malaysian waters, Shelley explained. US TARGETS CHINESE REFINERY IN SWEEPING IRAN OIL CRACKDOWN, SANCTIONS ‘SHADOW FLEET’ TANKERS "On September 16th, United Against Nuclear Iran chartered a supply vessel and transited 100 nautical miles into the Malaysian Eastern Outer Port Limits Anchorage," Shelley said. "Here we witnessed firsthand the illicit activities of ghost fleet tankers, as well as some Iran-flagged cargo ships that were located in this anchorage, one of them being the SOGL." She described the SOGL as "a Handymax small tanker that was laden with 500,000 barrels of Iranian LPG." The U.S. maritime blockade was first imposed April 13, temporarily lifted in mid-June and reinstated July 14 after diplomatic negotiations collapsed.
The operation has largely stopped Iran from exporting crude oil, depriving Tehran of a major source of revenue as the country faces intense economic pressure. "The U.S. blockade is an overwhelming success at preventing vessels laden with Iranian oil and petrochemicals from leaving the Gulf of Oman," Shelley said. She added that since the blockade was reinstated, "no Iranian crude oil has managed to depart and be a successful export for Iran, which is a huge economic pressure for the Iranian regime." "It's just that there are some opportunistic small tankers that are just managing to breach the blockade." The United States, she said, is primarily prioritizing Iranian crude and very large tankers, which often carry "two million barrels of Iranian crude." MORNING GLORY: PRESIDENT TRUMP AND THE AMERICAN MILITARY HAVE BEATEN IRAN LPG is a flammable mixture of hydrocarbons, primarily propane and butane, used for heating, cooking, transportation and industrial production.
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