Iran Tanker Update – December 2019

To wrap up UANI’s ship-tracking in 2019, in December the vessel monitoring team identified a new Iranian crude oil ship to ship (STS) transfer location off the coast of the Indonesian island of Karimunbesar. Karimunbesar Island is one of the islands in the Riau Islands chain, just south of Singapore and west of the Indonesian island of Batam.

(Source: Google Maps)

The first sign of a new STS site occurred on November 5, 2019, when the Iranian National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) tanker ARGO I signaled “NIPAH” as its destination. This is a very uncommon signal for an Iranian tanker. The next day ARGO I was reported to have anchored at the port of Pulau Sambu, Indonesia. Upon arrival, ARGO I’s draft was at 13.5, and on November 8, 2019, ARGO I departed the anchorage with a draft at 8.5, indicating that sometime during November 5-8, ARGO I discharged its crude oil, likely in a STS transfer.

(Sources: Bloomberg L.P., Mapbox, OpenStreetMap)

On December 13, 2019, ARGO I transmitted another unusual signal, reporting Karimun as its destination and then turning its transponder off. On December 17, 2019, ARGO I reappeared at Tanjung Balai Karimun STS port in Indonesia with a draft at 8.5, meaning that sometime during December 13-17, ARGO I offloaded its crude oil.

Tanker Trackers later corroborated UANI suspicions, and confirmed that Iran has been using a designated area off the coast of Karimunbesar Island, not too far from Singapore to conduct STS. The maritime tracking site found that the ARGO I conducted a STS transfer with a vessel called the ABYSS. The ABYSS is registered to a Vietnamese company called PV Trans, according to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and has previously carried Iranian oil that reached Italy’s ENI back in May 2019. 

As predicted in previous UANI reports, Iran’s exports to China continued. The National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) Crude Oil Tanker SANAN appeared in the Strait of Malacca on December 11, 2019, full with its draft at 16.5. It signaled its destination as only “FAR EAST FOR ORDER.” In an attempt to hide its whereabouts, SANAN’s AIS signal jumped from the Arabian Sea to the East China Sea as the vessel made its way to Jinzhou Port, China for unloading on December 28, 2019.

(Sources: Bloomberg L.P., Mapbox, OpenStreetMap)

Another delivery to China was made by NITC tanker SEA STAR III. On December 13, 2019, SEA STAR III appeared in the Strait of Malacca full with its draft at 19.6. On December 15, 2019, SEA STAR III turned its AIS off and reappeared on December 20, 2019, at Huizhou Port, China, MaBianZhou CNOOC (China National Offshore Oil Company) Crude Terminal. It completed its delivery on December 25, 2019, as indicated by a change in the draft to 11.5. Previously NITC tanker DANIEL delivered to this CNOOC –owned and -operated port in July 2019.

(Sources: Bloomberg L.P., Mapbox, OpenStreetMap)

Additional Iranian crude oil tankers that UANI has been monitoring this month include:

• SILVIA I appeared in the Strait of Malacca on December 20, 2019 and disappeared after entering the Mediterranean on December 21, 2019. This will likely be another delivery of Iranian crude to Syria.
• SARAK appeared in the East Mediterranean on December 3, 2019 and disappeared in the Red Sea two days later. SARAK reappeared again in the another Red Sea on December 30, 2019 and entered the Suez Canal on January 2, 2020, heading for the Mediterranean, this will also likely be a delivery to Syria.