Tanker Tracking

In this month’s update, we note with approval that the Panama Maritime Authority is making significant progress in cleaning up its registry by deleting at least 32 vessels suspected of transporting Iranian oil. This has been a key request from United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) since 2020. Panama’s proactive measures represent a step toward curbing Iran’s deceptive shipping practices and cutting off a vital revenue stream used to fund its terrorist activities. Nonetheless, at least 130 vessels on the Panama registry require further scrutiny and potential action. 

U.S. and European economic restrictions have been in place on Syria since 2011, including measures prohibiting most oil trade with Syria. Despite this, Syria has been a consistent top-five destination for U.S.-sanctioned Iranian oil since at least 2011. Some 8 percent of total Iranian oil exports end up in Syria—a lot of it forwarded to Hezbollah in Lebanon—facilitated by IRGC smuggling networks.

Just as travelers may not generally enter other countries without a valid passport, ships may not dock at foreign ports without a recognized flag. So it was a significant step this month when the U.S.

The striking divergence between U.S. oil policy on Russia versus Iran was borne out again this month.

The Iran-backed Houthi terrorist group in Yemen has carried out a total of 30 piracy (hijacking), UAV, and anti-ship ballistic missile attacks on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since the first attack on November 19, 2023, the hijacking of the GALAXY LEADER (IMO: 9237307).

UANI’s final tanker tracker of the year reviews the topline data points for 2023 UANI’s impact, and offers prescriptions for 2024.

In the wake of Hamas’ massacre of 1,200 Israelis on October 7, Iran has taken advantage of the ensuing chaos to escalate its policy of maritime aggression. Some of Iran’s and Iranian proxies’ recent bold maneuvers include: the hijacking of and hostage-taking aboard MV Central Park; attacking the Israeli-owned container ship CMA CGM Symi using a bomb-carrying Iranian drone, and; launching missiles at the USS Mason.

The barbaric atrocity inflicted by Iran-backed Hamas on October 7 has reignited the question of how to stop billions of petro-dollars flowing to the head of the snake in Tehran. Since the start of the Biden administration, Iran has exported well north of $80 billion worth of its oil.  Billions are, in turn, given to terror proxies. Hamas alone receives $100 million each year from its Iranian patrons, with horrific results.

“Is Malaysia helping Iran skirt oil sanctions?” this blog asked in July 2019.  Four years and a billion barrels of oil later, the Guardian has asked the same, highlighting striking discrepancies noted in UANI data between official records from China and Malaysia:

This month, Iran’s oil exports reached levels not seen since 2017. During the first 20 days of August, Iran dispatched an average of two million barrels of oil daily. This marks a substantial increase of more than 30% compared to previous months. The key to understanding this oil export surge lies in the relaxation of sanctions enforcement by the Biden administration, particularly to China. This approach has opened avenues for Iran to revive and significantly increase its exports.