An Iranian supertanker carrying nearly $220 million worth of oil has evaded US blockade efforts, TankerTrackers reported Sunday.
A Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) belonging to Iran’s National Iranian Tanker Company has successfully evaded the US Navy and reached the Asia Pacific, carrying more than 1.9 million barrels of crude oil valued at nearly $220m, according to TankerTrackers.com.
In a post on X, the monitoring firm identified the vessel as “HUGE” and said it was last sighted off Sri Lanka more than a week ago. The tanker is currently traversing the Lombok Strait of Indonesia towards the Riau Archipelago.
TankerTrackers.com said that HUGE was in Iranian waters on April 13, when the US Navy announced its blockade on Iranian ports. It said HUGE had not transmitted on the Automatic Identification System (AIS) since March 20, when it departed the Strait of Malacca for Iran.
The report comes after Iranian state media claimed on April 29 that at least 52 Iranian ships had breached the US blockade. The US military, meanwhile, has said it has forced some 41 Iran-linked vessels to reverse course since the blockade began.
US officials say the blockade is working and has cost Iran billions in revenue. The US says that Iran is unable to export oil and will be forced to store oil until capacity runs out and production halts.
-Al Jazeera
A Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) belonging to Iran’s National Iranian Tanker Company has successfully evaded the US Navy and reached the Asia Pacific, carrying more than 1.9 million barrels of crude oil valued at nearly $220m, according to TankerTrackers.com.
In a post on X, the monitoring firm identified the vessel as “HUGE” and said it was last sighted off Sri Lanka more than a week ago. The tanker is currently traversing the Lombok Strait of Indonesia towards the Riau Archipelago.
TankerTrackers.com said that HUGE was in Iranian waters on April 13, when the US Navy announced its blockade on Iranian ports. It said HUGE had not transmitted on the Automatic Identification System (AIS) since March 20, when it departed the Strait of Malacca for Iran.
The report comes after Iranian state media claimed on April 29 that at least 52 Iranian ships had breached the US blockade. The US military, meanwhile, has said it has forced some 41 Iran-linked vessels to reverse course since the blockade began.
US officials say the blockade is working and has cost Iran billions in revenue. The US says that Iran is unable to export oil and will be forced to store oil until capacity runs out and production halts.
-Al Jazeera
