Tanker Tracking

The Iran Oil Show, once an authentically global gathering of multinational companies, is today a stark reflection of Tehran's mounting reliance on just two countries: Russia and China. The official handbook at this year's show – obtained by UANI in Tehran – lists barely a handful of non-Russian or non-Chinese foreign attendees.

In the first week of June, the Stop Harboring Iranian Petroleum Act (SHIP Act) of 2023 (H.R. 3774) was introduced in the House by Representatives Reps. Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), and in the Senate by Sens.

Earlier this month, one of Iran’s “ghost armada” vessels, PABLO (IMO: 9133587), exploded off the coast of Malaysia, ten days after departing China.  Three crew members are presumed dead, with others suffering severe burns.

On April 21,  Reuters reported that Chinese authorities were conducting more rigorous customs checks on Iranian oil imports entering the northeast province of Shandong, causing delays “after several Iranian [crude oil] cargos were [falsely] declared as bitumen….”  As a consequence, 9.6 million barrels are now awaiting customs clearance for entry.

On March 12, Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji had encouraging news for the Islamic Republic regime.  “Iran’s oil exports have reached their highest level since the reimposition of U.S. sanctions in 2018,” reported Reuters on his announcement, with “83 million more barrels in the current year starting 21st March 2022 [that] were exported compared to the previous Iranian year running March 2021-2022.”

Now more than halfway through President Biden’s four-year term, we are still left to wonder if the Administration will seriously address the biggest single sanction-busting scheme happening right under its nose – Iranian oil exports to China.  At the current trajectory, China will have imported 1.2 billion barrels of Iranian oil during the Biden presidency, worth in the region of $100 billion.  In fact, recent higher figures suggest the total figure will be closer to 1.3 billion come January 2025.

In the two years since the start of the Biden Administration, the Islamic Republic of Iran has managed to export just over 600 million barrels of oil to China, worth around $48 billion. When questioned about these eye-watering numbers this month, U.S. Special Envoy to Iran Rob Malley assured Bloomberg that the Biden team was “not fine with it.”  Unfortunately, Mr.

Since August 2020 and via over almost 50 letters, United Against Nuclear Iran (“UANI”) has informed the Panama Maritime Authority (“AMP”) that  140 of its flagged vessels were suspected of being involved in the transport of Iranian oil. UANI relayed  substantive and meticulously researched evidence to AMP, including but not limited to the following:

UANI’s final tanker tracker of the year looks back at some of the topline figures for 2022, prescriptions for 2023, and UANI’s impact over the year.

2022 Summary

In 2022 Iran managed to increase exports slightly by 3.3%, from 416 million barrels in 2021 to just under 430 million in 2022.  The free flow of Iranian oil exports is the number one reason keeping the regime financially alive.

What the EU Ban on Russian Oil Could Mean for Iran

On December 5, the European Union will ban Russian crude oil imports EU tankers will also be barred from transporting, insuring, and financing Russian oil shipments.