Iran’s aging tankers used for oil reserves as blockade strains storage capacity

A nearly 30-year-old oil tanker, Nasha, is being used by Iran to store approximately two million barrels of oil off the coast of Kharg Island as the US naval blockade entered its fourth week, according to a report from United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI).

Satellite imagery and tracking data from Vortexa revealed that the Iranian-flagged supertanker Nasha has been re-mobilized to store oil off the coast of Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf. The Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) was built in 1996 and had not been used for nearly three years; its location and utility during that time were unknown, according to UANI.