US Blockade Bottles Up Dozens of Iranian Tankers, Nonprofit Says

By Rong Wei Neo

Oct 6, 2026 (Bloomberg) –The US blockade of Iran is keeping dozens of laden tankers bottled up along the nation’s coast, while others outside the Persian Gulf are holding off Sri Lanka, according to United Against Nuclear Iran.

At least 50 tankers carrying Iranian oil remain backed up near the country, broadly unchanged from two months ago, the nonprofit group said in a regular shipping update on Oct. 5. The vessels are mostly carrying crude, as well as petroleum products and liquefied petroleum gas, it said.

Elsewhere, empty vessels are “loitering at anchorages across the Indo-Pacific rather than transiting back to Iranian ports because of the US blockade,” according to UANI, which describes itself a non-partisan policy organization. Twenty Iran-flagged vessels are off Sri Lanka, while one is off Oman.

Iran has been subject to a near-total blockade by Washington’s forces in a bid to increase the economic pressure on Tehran and force its capitulation. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the country would have no oil on the water this week “for the first time in history,” according to an interview with Axios. A total of 130 vessels have been redirected, a US military tally shows.

Read More: Pressure Builds on Iran as Trump Boosts US Military Presence

Within the Persian Gulf, at least 11 laden tankers are anchored east of Kharg Island, the Islamic Republic’s main export terminal, with another five further south, UANI said. No tankers were seen loading at Kharg on Monday, it said.

Iran loaded no crude oil onto tankers in September, according to preliminary vessel-tracking estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Loadings fell to zero last month in the first such instance since the war began in February.

© 2026 Bloomberg L.P.

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