Iran-Linked Tankers U-Turn and Zig-Zag as US Enforces Blockade

Two US-sanctioned tankers carrying cooking fuel are U-turning and zig-zagging in the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea, part of a flotilla of vessels laden with Iranian energy exports that are facing an aggressive US blockade of the country’s shipping.

(Bloomberg) — Two US-sanctioned tankers carrying cooking fuel are U-turning and zig-zagging in the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea, part of a flotilla of vessels laden with Iranian energy exports that are facing an aggressive US blockade of the country’s shipping. The unusual movements come as the US enforces its new action against Iranian shipping that began on Tuesday. Since then, American forces have redirected three merchant ships, boarded a vessel for verification purposes, and disabled a tanker that failed to comply with instructions, US Central Command said in a social-media post late on Thursday.

The locations of the disabled tanker, which was hit by US missiles deep in the Persian Gulf near Iran’s oil export terminal of Kharg Island, and the ship that was boarded, in the Gulf of Oman, point to a wider area of operations for the renewed blockade compared to the previous one. The liquefied petroleum gas carrier Glendale was in the Gulf of Oman and heading toward the Arabian Sea when it made a U-turn late Thursday, and it’s now idling off the coast of Oman, according to ship-tracking data.

Danuta I had barely made it into the Arabian Sea when it made a couple of sharp changes in direction, and it’s now traveling at a slow speed that’s not in the direction of its stated destination of Sri Lanka. A third US-sanctioned LPG vessel, the very large gas carrier Celeste, was observed sailing into the Arabian Sea, and indicating China as its destination. Some 91 Iran-linked oil, LPG and petrochemical tankers have been spotted in satellite images in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman over the last seven days, according to figures from nonprofit organization United Against Nuclear Iran.

The energy and shipping markets are keenly following the movements of the flotilla to understand how tightly the US military is running its blockade. Observable shipping activity through the Strait of Hormuz remained subdued early on Friday. Only four Iran-linked vessels crossed in either direction with their transponders the previous day, although one small oil tanker that had made an eastbound transit to leave the Persian Gulf then turned around again to return to the inland sea.

Glendale’s owner is listed as Ecoseas Maritime Ltd., which shares an India-based address with its manager, Bluveera Shipping OPC Pvt Ltd., on the Equasis database. A call made to Ecoseas’s Bulgarian telephone number didn’t get through, while Bluveera has no email or contact number listed. Similarly, no emails or phone numbers were listed for Danuta I’s owner and manager, Panama-based Ithaki Maritime and Trading SA.

Celeste’s owner, Aerilyn Shipping Inc., also based in Panama, didn’t list any email or phone number.