Three Crude Oil Tankers Exit Strait of Hormuz With Transponders Off to Evade Iranian Attacks

DUBAI — Three very large crude carriers successfully transited the Strait of Hormuz last week and over the weekend with their automatic identification system (AIS) transponders switched off, shipping data from Kpler and LSEG showed Monday.

The vessels were carrying roughly 6 million barrels of non-Iranian crude from Iraq and the United Arab Emirates. The move was a deliberate step to reduce visibility and avoid potential Iranian attacks amid the ongoing Middle East conflict, not to circumvent the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports.

The tankers included the Greek-managed Agios Fanourios I, loaded with 2 million barrels of Iraqi Basrah Medium crude and bound for Vietnam’s Nghi Son Refinery. It had failed at least two prior transit attempts since loading in mid-April. The San Marino-flagged Kiara M, managed by a Shanghai-based firm and owned by a Marshall Islands entity, also carried 2 million barrels of Iraqi Basrah crude. The Panama-flagged Basrah Energy, managed by Sinokor, transported 2 million barrels of Upper Zakum crude from ADNOC’s Zirku terminal and offloaded in Fujairah on May 8.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and its buyers have increasingly used such tactics to move oil that has been stranded in the Persian Gulf since the conflict escalated. The U.S. blockade targets vessels calling at Iranian ports, while Iran has threatened commercial shipping in the strait. Non-Iranian tankers from Gulf producers have turned to dark transits—sailing without AIS signals—to lower their risk profile.

This latest group of dark transits underscores a growing pattern: producers are finding ways to sustain limited oil exports despite Iranian threats and the fragile ceasefire. No incidents were reported during these passages, and the tankers continued to their destinations without broadcasting positions while in the narrow waterway.

The Strait of Hormuz remains a high-risk chokepoint, but these successful dark transits demonstrate that Gulf oil producers continue to move product despite the challenges.