Iran Tankers: Crude Exports Continue Despite Security Concerns

By Julian Lee (Bloomberg) —

Iran is still exporting crude oil from its main Kharg Island terminal even after a flotilla of oil tankers fled nearby waters where they’d normally wait their turn to collect cargoes.

Three tankers, two very large crude carriers and one Aframax, were seen moored at the jetties to the east and west of the island on Tuesday morning, satellite imagery from Sentinel Hub show. Together, the ships can haul about 5 million barrels of crude.

The anchorage area — an expanse of water that the tankers vacated after Israeli pledges to retaliate against a Iranian missile salvo — remains empty with the ships having dispersed.

A prior image of the island, taken on Thursday, also showed the port in use. One VLCC was being pushed onto the eastern jetty by two tugs, with another approaching the terminal. A third, smaller, tanker was also just off the jetty.

It would be rather ironic if Iranian oil exports set a fresh 6-year high in Oct, right? After a brief hiatus, the main Iranian oil export terminal at Kharg Island was rather busy this morning loading tankers.

(per @CopernicusEU Sentinel 2 sat at 7.30am GMT today) #OOTT #Iran pic.twitter.com/Eas6hejUA8
— Javier Blas (@JavierBlas) October 8, 2024

President Joe Biden has sought to discourage Israel from attacking Iran’s oil infrastructure after crude prices surged on the rising tensions, pushing Brent above $80 a barrel for the first time since August.

Initial estimates of Iran’s September exports of crude and condensate, a light form of oil extracted from gas fields, was the highest in at least 15 months. The initial figure of 1.73 million barrels a day is likely to revised higher as more ships become visible to digital tracking systems.