Iran Tanker Tracking

Economic pressure can compel Tehran to moderate its destructive behavior and end its pursuit of nuclear weapons. Crude and natural gas exports historically account for 25% of government revenues: it is therefore important to accurately track Iran’s oil exports to interpret if sanctions are effectively stopping the flow of revenue to the regime.

This can be difficult given the regime’s track-record of smuggling and sanctions evasion techniques and there is little consensus among oil tracking agencies about how much is getting through, and to where.

This variance mars the accuracy of media reports, but it also presents a serious challenge to those trying to get a handle on the trajectory of the Iranian economy, given its oil revenue dependency.

More importantly, a correct accounting of quantities and destinations will help focus limited resources to where they are really needed: which shippers, which vessels, which areas, which ports, which flags, which insurers.

UANI has therefore sought to address the information gap with a new comprehensive ship-tracking methodology.

Using Automatic Identification System (AIS), satellite imagery, vessel comparison and tanker classification, and cargo datasets to uncover all under-the-radar ship-to-ship (STS) transfers and exports of Iranian oil and gas condensates, we generate what we contend are the most accurate figures available.

This resource seeks to disrupt Iran’s attempts to generate profits from oil sales and further isolate the regime economically.

  • Exports Over Time
  • Shipping Analysis
  • September 2024
    Barrels Per Day (BPD)
September Total: 1,712,515
September 2024 Iran Tanker Tracker
October 08, 2024 | Claire Jungman and Daniel Roth

On September 25, the United States slapped more sanctions on entities and individuals connected to Iran's petroleum sector—by far the regime’s most important financial lifeline. The U.S. Department of Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) blacklisted multiple entities—three individuals, four companies, plus nine vessels—all Chinese or Emirati-owned or -based.  (Two of the tankers, ETERNAL 8 (IMO: 9232448) and ETERNAL PEACE (IMO: 9259745), sanctioned for their participation in these evasive operations, were already actively tracked by UANI maritime monitoring).

This latest round of sanctions further underscores Iran’s ongoing dependence on a sizeable foreign phalanx of intermediaries and facilitators, which provides critical and illegal services—on-shore and off—to grease the Iranian oil trade: false flagging, hidden and often complex ship-to-ship (STS) transfers, and the obscuring of oil origin, among a host of others. 
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