How Iran’s Dark Fleet Of Oil Ships Smuggles Black Gold To China

"In the warm waters of the Persian Gulf, hidden from the world, two ageing oil tankers pulled up close. Anchored side by side, the Fortune Galaxy — a sanctioned ship infamous for smuggling Iranian oil and breaching maritime law — and the Serano II started a risky manoeuvre, transferring oil in the open sea. […] Here enters Iran’s dark fleet. Daniel Roth, research director at the non- profit United Against Nuclear Iran, said Tehran was “almost entirely dependent” on a “ghost armada” of 400 tankers registered outside the country. The Fortune Galaxy was identified in 2022 by the group as a tanker used by the Iranian regime to transport oil despite sanctions. The ship itself, as well as the company that operates it, has since been hit directly with United States Treasury sanctions over its links to a financier for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps."