Iran Shipping Update – October 21, 2026

The maritime security environment across the region remains highly volatile. Iranian attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz continue to disrupt maritime traffic, while Iran-backed Houthi threats and attacks around the Bab el-Mandeb pose a renewed risk to shipping through the Red Sea. Meanwhile, the U.S. maritime blockade on Iranian ports continues to severely constrain the regime’s oil exports.

For UANI’s recommendations for U.S. sanctions on Iran following “Economic D-Day,” read here.

U.S. Blockade 

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 October 17, U.S. forces have redirected 138 commercial vessels trying to run the blockade, disabled four that didn’t comply, and boarded two to ensure total compliance. Additionally, U.S. forces have destroyed 10 tankers linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Houthi Blockade

On July 20, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabian ports. While Houthi threats and attacks against Saudi-linked shipping initially prompted some tankers to reroute, transits have been slowly rising—likely reflecting a decrease in maritime strikes—according to data published by Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC). However, the conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis has escalated following a series of deadly Houthi strikes targeting Saudi’s King Khalid International Airport as well as threats to critical energy infrastructure. 

Status of the Strait of Hormuz

Since the start of the Iran War, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has confirmed 119 maritime incidents involving commercial vessels have been reported across the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, and Gulf of Oman. According to the IMO, these incidents have resulted in 24 seafarer deaths.

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 October 17, JMIC has reported a total of 1,068 vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz since June 18, for a total of 1,681 since the beginning of the war.

In the past months, an increasing number of vessels have transited the southern corridor of the Strait of Hormuz bidirectionally without broadcasting AIS location data, with many of these movements facilitated by U.S. forces. U.S.-facilitated transits through the Strait of Hormuz averaged 27.67 vessels per day with 83 transits recorded during the latest 72-hour period (October 15–17), bringing the month-to-date October total to 505 transits across 17 days at 29.71 per day, and raising the cumulative campaign total to 2,638 transits at an overall average of 21.98 per day across 120 monitored days.

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, only around nine small tankers carrying Iranian LPG and naphtha 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 52 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 October 21 (Credit: UANI)

Many of these laden tankers have remained in the same position for months, operating as floating storage. On October 21, four tankers, laden with Iranian crude and fuel oil, remained in the anchorage south of Jask, Iran, in the Gulf of Oman. 

Tankers laden with Iranian oil south of Jask, Iran on October 21 (Credit: ESA Copernicus)

Number of Iranian Loadings

Since the U.S. reinstated the maritime blockade on July 14, UANI has tracked at least 47 Iranian oil and petrochemical loadings, only eight of which originated from Kharg Island, Iran.

Iran-Linked Tankers Globally

UANI has also monitored Iran-flagged tankers operating beyond the Persian Gulf, particularly in the waters near Malaysia. In the days leading up to the UANI team’s trip to the Malaysian EOPL in the South China Sea, it was purported that Malaysian authorities had conducted enforcement actions in the anchorage. Prior to purported recent enforcement actions, seven Iran-flagged tankers had been loitering in the anchorage, namely: HUMANITY (IMO 9180281),STARLA (IMO 9569621), HILDA I (IMO 9357389), DAN (IMO 9357729), HAPPINESS I (IMO 9212905), HEDY (IMO 9212888), and DORENA (IMO 9569669).

DORENA, HEDY, HUMANITY, and STARLA remained in the EOPL and were last observed clustered together in the anchorage in satellite imagery on October 8. These tankers are most likely empty after already conducting STS transfers of Iranian crude.

However, most likely due to recent enforcement actions by Malaysian authorities, the other Iran-flagged tankers had departed the EOPL and transited the South China Sea northbound to anchorages south of Hong Kong and Zhuhai, China. HILDA 1 conducted an STS transfer of Iranian crude oil south of Zhuhai on September 17, while HAPPINESS I conducted an STS of Iranian crude oil south of Hong Kong on September 22. It is not known exactly where DAN relocated to; however, the tanker briefly broadcasted its location on AIS on September 25 transiting the South China Sea southbound towards the EOPL.

In addition, at least 19 tankers listed on UANI's Ghost Armada were anchored or loitering north of the EOPL anchorage with their AIS signals active. These tankers most likely departed the anchorage due to the purported recent enforcement actions of the Malaysian maritime authorities. Meanwhile, about 21 tankers listed on UANI’s Ghost Armadaremain loitering in the EOPL anchorage, demonstrating that Ghost Fleet tankers continue to operate with impunity across Southeast Asia's sea lanes.

Ghost Armada tankers near Malaysia on October 21 (Credit: Marine Traffic)

During UANI’s field mission to the Malaysian EOPL on September 16, they observed and identified the tanker SOGL (IMO 9208227), laden with Iranian LPG, in the anchorage. 

SOGL laden with Iranian LPG in the EOPL on September 16 (Credit: UANI)

Since then, the vessel has transited the South China Sea northbound to Qinzhou Port, China. Today, SOGL moored at the port most likely to discharge its Iranian LPG. Satellite imagery confirms SOGL’s location as the tanker approached the port. 

SOGL laden with Iranian LPG at Qinzhou Port, China on October 21 

(Credit: ESA Copernicus & Marine Traffic)

Iran-flagged tankers, empty after conducting STS transfers in the EOPL, are now loitering at anchorages across the Indo-Pacific rather than transiting back to Iranian ports because of the U.S. blockade. DIONA (IMO 9569695) is loitering offshore Duqm, Oman, while 20 empty Iran-flagged tankers are currently loitering off Sri Lanka. 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 HUGE (IMO 9357183). 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). By October 13, all of these tankers had relocated to other Sri Lankan anchorages further north up the coast and are intermittently broadcasting their locations via AIS.

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 Indian Ocean, the Suez Canal, and the Mediterranean.

Iran-flagged cargo vessels across the region on October 21 (Credit: Marine Traffic)

Near Karachi, Pakistan, the falsely flagged Iranian-linked container ships BATIS (IMO 9465760) and ARTMAN (IMO 9405930) remained anchored in the Karachi OPL anchorage.

At the Gulf of Kutch in India, SHAMIM (IMO 9270658) and DAISY (IMO 9270684) remained anchored near Kandla Port.

VELON 1 (IMO 9122473) continued sailing south along the Indian coast on its way to Port Klang, with an estimated arrival of November 1.

At Mumbai, India, the OFAC-sanctioned and falsely flagged container ship ENZO 2 (IMO 9236652) remained anchored at the Mumbai OPL.

In the Maldives, the container ship ARTAM (IMO 9284154) remained anchored in the northern atoll group in the Maldives archipelago since October 9.

The container ship VIRA 1 (IMO 9088524) continued northbound in the Malacca Strait bound for Kandla, India, with an estimated arrival of October 31. Meanwhile, the falsely flagged, OFAC-sanctioned TAVA 4 (IMO 9292151), which was last spotted in the Malacca Strait near Port Klang, has stopped broadcasting on AIS and its current location is not known.

At the Malaysian EOPL, 21 Iranian-flagged cargo ships were in or near the anchorage: 

AMINA (IMO 9305192), ANDIA (IMO 9193197), ARDAVAN (IMO 9465863), ARIES (IMO 9369722), ARTABAZ (IMO 9283007), ARTIN (IMO 9305221), ARZIN (IMO 9284142), BAHJAT (IMO 9405954), BARZIN (IMO 9820269), BEHDOKHT (IMO 9405978), BEHTA (IMO 9349590), DARYABAR (IMO 9369710), FLORA (IMO 9349576), GANJ (IMO 9305219), GOLAFRUZ (IMO 9323833), KASHAN (IMO 9270696), PARISAN (IMO 9465851), PARNIA (IMO 9167265), and RAYEN (IMO 9820245), SHIBA (IMO 9270646), and ALOR 2 (IMO 9228538). Most of these vessels will likely remain in the EOPL while the U.S. blockade is still in force, receiving regular logistics support from Malaysian service providers, despite the risk of secondary sanctions from OFAC.

Iran-flagged cargo ships near the Malaysian EOPL on October 21 (Credit: Marine Traffic)

In Thailand, the bulk carrier PARSHAD (IMO 9387786) remained at anchored off Sriracha. Meanwhile, the bulk carrier DELNAVAZ (IMO 9387803) remained anchored just south of Phuket Island in the Andaman Sea. 

In the South China Sea, AREZOO (IMO 9165786) departed Ho Chi Minh City and sailed for Surabaya, Indonesia.   

At Zhuhai, China, the container ships ARTENOS (IMO 9820245) and RADIN (IMO 9820257) remained in the anchorage. Zhuhai Port at Gaolan Island has previously been identified in media reports as a source of precursor chemicals for rocket fuel. 

Near Shanghai, the container ships ASYAN (IMO 9165803), ABYAN (IMO 9349667), and SHABDIS (IMO 9349588)remained anchored at CJK anchorage.

In the Mediterranean, the general cargo ship ALVAN (IMO 9165798) sailed north from Port Said to the Turkish Straits with an estimated arrival of October 23 and is likely to continue to a Russian Black Sea port. The container ships BASHT (IMO 9346536) and ZARDIS (IMO 9349679) transited the Suez Canal and entered the Mediterranean Sea. BASHT has listed its new destination as Benghazi, Libya, with an estimated arrival of October 23, while ZARDIS listed its destination as Bronka Port, Russia, near St. Petersburg. The Iranian-flagged container ship FLEXI 2 (IMO 9246322) approached the Port Said anchorage, where it will likely wait before transiting the Suez Canal into the Red Sea. Meanwhile, NYRA 2 (IMO 9241487) remained anchored south of the Suez Canal.

Iran-flagged cargo ships in the Mediterranean and Red Sea on October 21 (Credit: Marine Traffic)