Iran Shipping Update – September 8, 2026

President Trump announced an unprecedentedly sweeping “Economic D-Day” operation against the Iranian regime on August 19. The security situation in the Strait of Hormuz remains highly volatile. Iran continues to target commercial shipping and Gulf States. While Iran continues to target commercial shipping and Gulf States, U.S. forces have responded with strikes against Iranian military assets and IRGC-owned tankers.

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

U.S. Blockade and Military Actions

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 September 7, U.S. forces have redirected 94 commercial vessels trying to run the blockade, disabled 3 that didn't comply, and boarded 2 to ensure total compliance.

On September 5, U.S. forces struck three Iranian crude oil carriers, after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched ballistic missiles toward two U.S. Navy warships patrolling regional waters. Following Iran’s failed attacks, U.S. forces permanently disabled two IRGC crude oil laden tankers: M/T DOWNY (IMO 9218480) off the coast of Kharg Island and M/T STARK 1 (IMO 9171450) near Jask. The unladen crude carrier M/T KYLO (IMO 9189146), also known as NOXEN, was also completely destroyed and sunk in the Gulf of Oman after its crew was directed to abandon ship.

On September 5, DOWNY was observed in satellite imagery surrounded by possible tugs and service craft supporting the tanker after it had been struck by U.S. forces.

DOWNY after U.S. strikes on September 5 (Credit: ESA Copernicus)

Houthi Blockade and Attacks

On July 20, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabian ports. However, there have been no serious maritime incidents reported since August 24. 

While Houthi threats and attacks against Saudi-linked shipping initially prompted some tankers, but not all, to reroute, transits have been slowly rising—likely reflecting a decrease in maritime strikes—according to data published by Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC). 

On September 8, however, the Houthis attacked energy facilities and other civilian infrastructure in Saudi Arabia with dozens of drones and missiles.

Status of the Strait of Hormuz

Since the start of the Iran War, 78 maritime incidents involving commercial vessels have been reported across the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, and Gulf of Oman. According to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), these incidents have resulted in 21 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 September 5, JMIC has reported a total of 883 vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz since June 18, for a total of 1,496 since the beginning of the war.

Open transits of commercial vessels through the southern corridor of the Strait of Hormuz declined following the IRGC strikes on commercial shipping starting July 7 but have not ceased entirely. Since the strikes, the traffic has been dominated by Iranian- and Chinese-linked vessels transiting via the northern corridor. In the past weeks, an increasing number of vessels have transited the southern corridor without broadcasting AIS location data, with many of these movements facilitated by U.S. forces. 

JMIC reported 59 "U.S. facilitated" transits over the 72-hour period of September 3–5, for a total of 1435 facilitated transits since June 20. Since the July low point of ~4.5 transits per day, the rate of transits has increased during the last month to an average of ~20 per day. 

On September 6, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei, said that Iran would establish a “prohibited zone” outside the Strait of Hormuz, including areas in the Persian Gulf, adding that any ship entering this new zone will be placed on its sanctions list. Despite the threat, a prohibited zone has not yet been formally declared, and the announcement has had little to no impact on vessel transits through the waterway.

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 reinstatement of the blockade, around only five handymax-size tankers carrying Iranian LPG 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 51 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 September 8 (Credit: UANI)

Number of Iranian Loadings

Since the U.S. reinstated the maritime blockade on July 14, UANI has tracked at least 29 Iranian oil and petrochemical loadings, only 6 of which originated from Kharg Island, Iran. On September 8, one handymax tanker was observed loading at Kharg Island's petrochemical complex, situated just west of the DOWNY, which had previously been targeted by U.S. strikes on 5 September.

Small handymax tanker loading at Kharg Island on September 8 (Credit: ESA Copernicus)

Iran-flagged Tankers Globally

UANI has also monitored Iran-flagged tankers operating beyond the Persian Gulf. There are 7 Iran-flagged tankers currently in the EOPL: HUMANITY (IMO 9180281), STARLA (IMO 9569621), HILDA I (IMO 9357389), DAN (IMO 9357729), HAPPINESS I (IMO 9212905), HEDY (IMO 9212888), and DORENA (IMO 9569669). They have all previously passed the Singapore Strait and have since stopped broadcasting their location on AIS. All of these tankers have either already conducted or are waiting to conduct an STS transfer of Iranian oil.

In addition to the seven Iran-flagged tankers, at least 41 tankers listed on UANI's Ghost Armada were anchored or loitering near the EOPL area with their AIS signals active, demonstrating that Ghost Fleet tankers continue to operate with impunity across Southeast Asia's sea lanes. 

UANI Ghost Armada tankers broadcasting on AIS in the EOPL on September 8 (Credit: Marine Traffic)

Meanwhile, 20 Iran-flagged tankers have departed the EOPL in ballast after completing STS transfers in the anchorage. 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 DIONA (IMO 9569695).

Iran-flagged HUGE (IMO 9357183) has also departed the EOPL anchorage. This tanker had been loitering unladen in the EOPL anchorage for over two weeks after conducting an STS transfer of Iranian crude south of Hong Kong in the South China Sea on July 9. It is now at Galle anchorage with the other Iran-flagged tankers in ballast.

These departing Iran-flagged tankers are now heading to anchorages across the Indo-Pacific rather than back to Iranian ports because of the U.S. blockade. DIONA is loitering offshore Duqm, Oman, while 20 empty Iran-flagged tankers are currently loitering off Sri Lanka—namely, STREAM, HALTI, DREAM II, HERO II, SILVIA I, SEA CLIFF, SNOW, HELM, DIAMOND II, DEEP SEA, DUNE, DINO I, SONIA I, HERBY, SEVIN, AMBER, HENNA, FELICITY, HUGE, and DORE. 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). Most of these vessels can be located by their AIS signal, plus three were observed in satellite imagery today.

Iran-flagged tankers near Sri Lanka on September 8 (Credit: Marine Traffic)

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 Arabian Sea, and the Mediterranean.

Iran-flagged cargo vessels across the region on September 8 (Credit: Marine Traffic)

The falsely flagged Iran-linked container ship ZYRA (IMO 9237084) which departed the Kandla container terminal on September 4 after conducting possible transhipment ops with the falsely flagged FLORA (IMO 9349576), crossed the Gulf of Oman and entered Iranian EEZ on September 5 and anchored in Iranian territorial waters that same day. It is not known whether U.S. naval forces had any interactions with this ship.

Iran-flagged cargo ship crossing the Gulf of Oman on September 8 (Credit: Marine Traffic)

Near Karachi, Pakistan, the falsely fagged, Iranian-linked container ships VELON 1 (IMO 9122473) and BATIS (IMO 9465760) remained anchored in the OPL.  

At the Gulf of Kutch, the Iran flagged container ship VIRA 1 (IMO 9088524) departed Kandla port after cargo operations that took place September 6–8, and is now heading to the Karachi OPL anchorage. Meanwhile, the FLORA (IMO 9349576) remains anchored outside of Kandla and the ARTMAN (IMO 9405930) remained anchored at southern side of the entrance to the Gulf of Kutch. The Iran-flagged ARTAM (IMO 9284154) departed the north side of the entrance of the Gulf of Kutch, sailing southwest with its destination unknown.

Iran-linked cargo ships in the Gulf of Kutch on September 8 (Credit: Marine Traffic & ESA Copernicus)

The container ship NYRA 2 (IMO 9241487) arrived and anchored outside Mumbai, India, on September 8.

The container ships SHIBA (IMO 9270646) and DAISY (IMO 9270684) remained anchored at the Colombo OPL, straddling Sri Lanka’s territorial sea limit.

At Port Klang, Malaysia, the container ship ENZO 2 (IMO 9236652) arrived from the EOPL and entered Port Klang container terminal on September 6 and departed on September 7. The container ship AREZOO (IMO 9165786), which arrived at the anchorage with ENZO 2, pulled into the container terminal on September 8 and departed later the same day, returning to the nearby anchorage. The AYSAN (IMO 9165803) also arrived at the anchorage on September 8, from Misrata, Libya. The container ship ARTABAZ (IMO 9283007) remained at the anchorage.

Iranian cargo ships near Port Klang on September 8 (Credit: Marine Traffic)

At the Malaysian EOPL, fourteen Iranian-flagged cargo ships remained near the anchorage. Just north of the EOPL, four bulk cargo ships remained anchored there: ANDIA (IMO 9193197), GOLAFRUZ (IMO 9323833), GANJ (IMO 9305219),and BEHDOKHT (IMO 9405978). Meanwhile, ten cargo ships were anchored in the EOPL anchorage: The bulk carriers DARYABAR (IMO 9369710), ARIES (IMO 9369722), ARTIN (IMO 9305221), AMINA (IMO 9305192), and ARDAVAN (IMO 9465863); general cargo ship PARNIA (IMO 9167265); and container ships BASHT (IMO 9346536), ARZIN (IMO 9284142), HAMOUNA (IMO 9820271), and KASHAN (IMO 9270696). All these vessels will likely remain in the EOPL while the U.S. blockade is still in force, receiving occasional logistics support, despite the risk of secondary sanctions from OFAC.

Iran-linked cargo vessels in the Malaysian EOPL on September 8 (Credit: Marine Traffic)

In the Gulf of Thailand, the bulk cargo ship PARISAN (IMO 9465851) departed the port at Siam Commercial Seaportnear Laem Chabang, Thailand, and BAHJAT (IMO 9405954) pulled into the same port. PARISAN is reporting its destination as BIK, Iran, but will likely stop at the Malaysian EOPL anchorage. The bulk carrier DELNAVAZ (IMO 9387803) remained anchored just south of Phuket Island. 

Iran-flagged cargo ships near Thailand on September 8 (Credit: Marine Traffic)

At Zhuhai, China, the container ships BARZIN (IMO 9820269), BEHTA (IMO 9349590), and RAYEN (IMO 9820245) remained in the Zhuhai anchorage area. Meanwhile, the container ship ALOR 2 (IMO 9228538) remained anchored close to Tamkan Island near Hong Kong, and the container ship ABYAN (IMO 9349667) has remained anchored in the middle of the Taiwan Strait since September 2. The ARTENOS (IMO 9283021) departed Zhuhai on September 6 and transited the Taiwan Strait on its way to Shanghai.

Iran-flagged cargo ships near China & Taiwan on September 8 (Credit: Marine Traffic)

The container ship SHABDIS (IMO 9349588) transited the Gulf of Aden toward the Arabian Sea on the way to its destination at Shanghai.  SHABDIS previously departed the Russian anchorage near St. Petersburg on August 20.  It had sailed in proximity to the Russian cargo ship MARIIA (IMO 9220641), which was attacked on September 6 by multiple aerial drones in the central Mediterranean while sailing east after departing Oran, Algeria.

The container ship FLEXI 2 (IMO 9246322) departed the anchorage at Port Said, Egypt, and headed west in the Mediterranean to its new destination, Bronka, in the Russian Baltic, near St. Petersburg. Meanwhile, the cargo ship ALVAN (IMO 9165798) remained anchored off Benghazi, Libya.

Iran-flagged cargo ships near the Suez Canal on September 8 (Credit: Marine Traffic)