The US military has secretly coordinated the transfer of an estimated 90 million barrels of Gulf oil since May, adopting Iran’s own sanctions-evasion tactics to covertly move the oil, a recent Reuters investigation revealed.
Two specific locations where the oil transfers take place were identified by 11 people familiar with the operation, in which at least 92 ships have been involved, according to shipping data and satellite imagery.
The ship-to-ship transfer operations, a shuttling technique long used by Iran to skirt sanctions, are fully controlled by the US military, said eight of the sources, including someone involved in the transfers.
Tankers must sail to a meeting point before they reach the strait, then stagger their departures so they are around 3,000 to 4,000 metres apart. Their transponders are off, and their lights are dimmed, sources say.
It doesn’t seem like any subterfuge is needed about which ship is carrying oil since there aren’t sanctions on it. The only challenge is actually passing the strait, and I wouldn’t credit dimming your lights and not actively broadcasting your location as a special tactic. Though I’m skeptical Iran could actually be bypassed with such basic acts. Are they really down to just spotters with binoculars?
Not sure. Even a good thermal camera or decent radar could probably spot a huge ship. But Hormuz is still around 20 miles wide which is quite a distance…
