Three Iranian oil tankers have sailed past the US Navy blockade of the Strait of Hormuz for the first time in two months, analysts said.
The Iranian-flagged Diona, Hero II and Sonia I, crude oil tankers were recorded passing the US blockade line in the Gulf of Oman starting Tuesday and going into the early hours of Wednesday morning, according to BBC — days ahead of Friday’s peace signing when Tehran would open the Strait of Hormuz to all and the American warships were set to end their patrol.
The tankers sailed through without employing any of Tehran’s usual shadow fleet tactics, with the vessels openly broadcasting their location for the first time since March, maritime intelligence firm Windward told the BBC.
Iranian tankers sailed past a US Navy blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. MarineTraffic.com
A sailor aboard the USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115) observes a commercial vessel as the ship patrols the Arabian Sea while enforcing the US blockade against Iran. X/US Central CommandThe three vessels are carrying a combined 4.8 million barrels of crude oil, according to TankerTrackers.com.
That export alone would be more than 15 times the amount that Iran’s exports had dropped to because of the US blockade on Iranian ports.
Tehran shipped out an estimated 260,000 barrels per day in May, according to maritime intelligence firm Kpler.
Lloyd’s List Intelligence, which has been monitoring the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, warned “the maritime sector is treating the news with something closer to wary disbelief than celebration.”
The vast majority of the ships that have crossed the Strait since March have been employing shadow fleet tactics, usually turning off their signals or making deals with Iran.
While President Trump signaled that the US blockade would be lifted immediately after Sunday’s agreement on the Memorandum of Understanding, officials later confirmed that the warships will continue to patrol the waters until Friday’s signing.
US Central Command, however, has not provided their usual regular updates on X on the number of ships disabled or intercepted in the Gulf of Oman since Sunday.
At the time, CENTCOM confirmed that the US blockade redirected 142 ships and disabled a total of nine vessels since the blockade went into effect on April 13.
CENTCOM did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
