President Trump announced an unprecedentedly sweeping “Economic D-Day” operation against the Iranian regime on August 19.
The security situation in the Strait of Hormuz remains highly volatile. Iran continues to target commercial shipping and Gulf States. While Iran continues to target commercial shipping and Gulf States, U.S. forces have responded with strikes against Iranian military assets and IRGC-owned tankers. For UANI’s recommendations for U.S. sanctions on Iran following “Economic D-Day,” read here. U.S. Blockade and Military Actions On July 14, U.S. forces reimposed the blockade against vessels transiting to or from Iranian ports and coastal areas while supporting compliant traffic in regional waters. As of September 13, U.S. forces have redirected 101 commercial vessels trying to run the blockade, disabled 3 that didn’t comply, and boarded 2 to ensure total compliance. More than 50 vessels supporting humanitarian aid have been allowed to pass. On September 5, U.S. forces struck three Iranian crude oil carriers after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched ballistic missiles at two U.S. Navy warships patrolling regional waters. Following Iran’s failed attacks, U.S. forces permanently disabled two IRGC crude oil laden tankers: M/T DOWNY (IMO 9218480) off the coast of Kharg Island and M/T STARK 1 (IMO 9171450) near Jask. The unladen crude carrier M/T KYLO (IMO 9189146), also known as NOXEN, was also completely destroyed and sunk in the Gulf of Oman after its crew was directed to abandon ship.
On September 8, U.S. forces struck another five IRGC crude oil carriers: M/T KAVIZ (IMO 9282041), M/T CHARMINAR (IMO 9318022), M/T HORIZON 1 (IMO 9130456), and M/T RIESCO (IMO 9251822) in the Gulf of Oman, and M/T DERYA (IMO 9569700) near Kharg Island. U.S. forces directed the crews to abandon ship before the tankers were destroyed.
Houthi Blockade On July 20, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabian ports. Media reports also indicate that the Houthis have seized islands in the Bab el-Mandeb and the port of Mocha. However, there have been no serious incidents reported since August 24.
While Houthi threats and attacks against Saudi-linked shipping initially prompted some tankers to reroute, transits have been slowly rising over the past week—likely reflecting a decrease in maritime strikes—according to data published by Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC).
Status of the Strait of Hormuz Since the start of the Iran War, 82 maritime incidents involving commercial vessels have been reported across the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, and Gulf of Oman. According to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), these incidents have resulted in 22 seafarer deaths. On September 13, the Panama-flagged tanker EL GAIA (IMO 9325336) was struck by Iran. The IMO reported that the vessel sustained damage and caused pollution, and that two seafarers were missing. Satellite imagery today shows the tanker—along with a potential oil slick—in Omani territorial waters along the southern route of the Strait of Hormuz. |
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Damaged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz on September 14 (Credit: ESA Copernicus) Prior to the outbreak of the Iran War, about 138 vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz daily. Throughout the conflict, marine traffic data showed large clusters of loitering vessels on both sides of the Strait of Hormuz, with many ships refraining from transiting due to safety concerns. After the signing of the MoU, JMIC reported an increase in open transits through the Strait of Hormuz. On June 24, JMIC recorded 54 transits, the highest daily total since the outbreak of the conflict. As of September 12, JMIC has reported a total of 921 vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz since June 18, for a total of 1,600 since the beginning of the war. |
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Open transits of commercial vessels through the southern corridor of the Strait of Hormuz declined following the IRGC strikes on commercial shipping starting July 7 but have not ceased entirely. Since the strikes, the traffic has been dominated by Iranian- and Chinese-linked vessels transiting via the northern corridor. In the past weeks, an increasing number of vessels have transited the southern corridor without broadcasting AIS location data, with many of these movements facilitated by U.S. forces. |
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Transit corridors in the Strait of Hormuz on September 14 (Credit: ESA Copernicus) JMIC reported 70 "U.S. facilitated" transits over the 72-hour period of September 10–12, for a total of 1600 facilitated transits since June 20. Since the July low point of ~4.5 transits per day, the rate of transits has increased during the last reporting period to an average of ~23 per day. |
On September 6, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei, said that Iran would establish a “prohibited zone” outside the Strait of Hormuz, including areas in the Persian Gulf, adding that any ship entering this new zone will be placed on its sanctions list. Despite the threat, a prohibited zone has not yet been formally declared, and the announcement has had little to no impact on vessel transits through the waterway. Iranian Oil-Laden Tankers Departing the Gulf of Oman Tankers laden with Iranian oil and petrochemicals are currently clustering in anchorages along the Iranian coastline due to the reinstatement of the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports. Since the blockade resumed, around only six handymax-size tankers carrying Iranian LPG have successfully passed the blockade line. However, UANI has not tracked any tanker laden with Iranian crude oil that has successfully departed the Gulf of Oman and avoided enforcement actions by U.S. forces since July 12, before the blockade was reinstated. Iranian Oil-Laden Tankers UANI has identified at least 56 tankers laden with Iranian oil—primarily crude, but also other petroleum products and LPG—currently operating along the Iranian coastline. |
Positions of tankers laden with Iranian oil on September 14 (Credit: UANI) Number of Iranian Loadings Since the U.S. reinstated the maritime blockade on July 14, UANI has tracked at least 34 Iranian oil and petrochemical loadings, eight of which originated from Kharg Island, Iran. Iran-flagged Tankers Globally UANI has also monitored Iran-flagged tankers operating beyond the Persian Gulf. There are seven Iran-flagged tankers currently in the EOPL: HUMANITY (IMO 9180281), STARLA (IMO 9569621), HILDA I (IMO 9357389), DAN (IMO 9357729), HAPPINESS I (IMO 9212905), HEDY (IMO 9212888), and DORENA (IMO 9569669). They have all previously passed the Singapore Strait and have since stopped broadcasting their location on AIS. All of these tankers have either already conducted or are waiting to conduct an STS transfer of Iranian oil. In addition to the seven Iran-flagged tankers, at least 35 tankers listed on UANI's Ghost Armada were anchored or loitering near the EOPL area with their AIS signals active, demonstrating that Ghost Fleet tankers continue to operate with impunity across Southeast Asia's sea lanes. Meanwhile, 20 Iran-flagged tankers have departed the EOPL in ballast after completing STS transfers in the anchorage. These tankers are DREAM II (IMO 9356593), STREAM (IMO 9569633), HALTI (IMO 9212890), SEA CLIFF (IMO 9569657), HERO II (IMO 9362073), SILVIA I (IMO 9172052), SNOW (IMO 9569619), HELM (IMO 9357391), DUNE (IMO 9569712), DEEP SEA (IMO 9218492), DIAMOND II (IMO 9218478), DINO 1 (IMO 9569671), SONIA I (IMO 9357365), DORE (IMO 9357717), HERBY (IMO 9362059), SEVIN (IMO 9357353), FELICITY (IMO 9183934), HENNA (IMO 9212929), AMBER (IMO 9357406), and DIONA (IMO 9569695). These departing Iran-flagged tankers are now loitering at anchorages across the Indo-Pacific rather than transiting back to Iranian ports because of the U.S. blockade. DIONA is loitering offshore Duqm, Oman. Meanwhile 20 empty Iran-flagged tankers are currently loitering off Sri Lanka—namely, STREAM, HALTI, DREAM II, HERO II, SILVIA I, SEA CLIFF, SNOW, HELM, DIAMOND II, DEEP SEA, DUNE, DINO I, SONIA I, HERBY, SEVIN, AMBER, HENNA, FELICITY, HUGE, and DORE. From August 23, most of these Iran-flagged tankers departed the Galle anchorage and started loitering within the vicinity of Sri Lanka, possibly driven by heightened regulatory or enforcement pressure following press coverage of UANI’s monitoring of Iran-flagged tankers in Sri Lanka’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Most of these vessels are intermittently broadcasting their locations on AIS. |
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Iran-flagged tankers near Sri Lanka on September 14 (Credit: Marine Traffic) Iran-Flagged Cargo Ships Globally Despite ongoing pressure of OFAC sanctions, and new constraints of the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports, approximately 50 Iranian-flagged cargo ships continue to operate openly across sea lanes, ports, and anchorages throughout the Indo-Pacific region, the Arabian Sea, the Mediterranean, and the Atlantic. |
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Iran-flagged cargo vessels across the region on September 14 (Credit: Marine Traffic) Near Karachi, Pakistan, the falsely flagged, Iranian-linked container ships VELON 1 (IMO 9122473) and BATIS (IMO 9465760) remained anchored in the OPL. Meanwhile the Iranian-flagged container ship VIRA 1 (IMO 9088524) returned to the vicinity of the Karachi OPL and started drifting near VELON 1. |
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Iranian cargo ships near Karachi OPL on September 14 (Credit: Marine Traffic) At the Gulf of Kutch, the container ship NYRA 2 (IMO 9241487) arrived from Mumbai and anchored next to the FLORA (IMO 9349576) outside of Kandla. The Iran-flagged ARTMAN (IMO 9405930) remained anchored at the southern side of the entrance to the Gulf of Kutch and the ARTAM (IMO 9284154) remained anchored on the northern side. The container ship ENZO 2 (IMO 9236652) continued to sail north along the western coast of India toward Mumbai, with an estimated arrival of September 17. The container ships SHIBA (IMO 9270646) and DAISY (IMO 9270684) remained anchored at the Colombo OPL, straddling Sri Lanka’s territorial sea limit. The container ship SHABDIS (IMO 9349588) transited the Six-Degree Channel between Bandar Aceh and the Nicobar Islands into the Andaman Sea and the Strait of Malacca on its way to Shanghai from the Russian Baltic. It may stop in the Malaysian EOPL after passing the Singapore Strait. |
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Iranian cargo ships near Bandar Aceh on September 14 (Credit: Marine Traffic) At Port Klang, Malaysia, the container ships AREZOO (IMO 9165786) and ARTABAZ (IMO 9283007) remained at the anchorage outside Port Klang. At the Malaysian EOPL, 15 Iranian-flagged cargo ships were in or near the anchorage. All these vessels will likely remain in the EOPL while the U.S. blockade is still in force, receiving occasional logistics support, despite the risk of secondary sanctions from OFAC. |
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Iran-flagged cargo ships at Port Klang and the EOPL on September 14 (Credit: Marine Traffic) In the Gulf of Thailand, the bulk cargo ship BAHJAT (IMO 9405954) remained in port at Siam Commercial Seaport near Laem Chabang, while the bulk carrier DELNAVAZ (IMO 9387803) remained anchored just south of Phuket Island. The container ship AYSAN (IMO 9165803) continued to sail north in the South China Sea on its way to Shanghai. At Zhuhai, China, the container ships BARZIN (IMO 9820269), BEHTA (IMO 9349590), and RAYEN (IMO 9820245) remained in the Zhuhai anchorage area. Meanwhile, the container ship ALOR 2 (IMO 9228538) remained anchored close to Tamkan Island near Hong Kong. In the Taiwan Strait, the container ship ABYAN (IMO 9349667) remained anchored in the middle of the strait since September 2. The container ship ARTENOS (IMO 9283021) sailed south in the Taiwan Strait from Shanghai back to Zhuhai. |
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Iran-flagged cargo ships in the Taiwan Strait on September 14 (Credit: Marine Traffic) In the Mediterranean, the container ship FLEXI 2 (IMO 9246322) transited the Gibraltar Strait into the Atlantic Ocean and its destination is Bronka, in the Russian Baltic, near St. Petersburg. |
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Iran-flagged cargo ships in the Mediterranean on September 14 (Credit: Marine Traffic) |
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