Small Iranian Tankers Reportedly Evade U.S. Blockade on Route to China

A group of small Iranian tankers has apparently found a way around the U.S. naval blockade, moving sanctioned liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) toward China through an offshore hub near Malaysia. U.S. investigators say they filmed one of the vessels during a covert trip in September.

United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), which monitored the trade for months, said at least nine similar tankers carrying Iranian oil or LPG have slipped past U.S. restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz since the blockade was reinstated in July.

One vessel UANI identified was the sanctioned tanker SOGL. The group says it loaded about 500,000 barrels of Iranian LPG at Assaluyeh port in late August, then left the Gulf of Oman on Sept. 1 despite the blockade.

After traveling thousands of miles, the ship reached an offshore anchorage in Malaysia. UANI filmed it receiving fuel and other services there. The SOGL later sailed to China, where it unloaded its Iranian cargo, according to the organization.

Jemima Shelley, a senior UANI analyst, said the footage showed that some vessels have managed to breach the blockade. Most have not, she said, but the group has tracked nine small tankers that departed the Gulf of Oman carrying oil or LPG since the restrictions returned in mid-July.

The vessels’ destination was the Malaysian Eastern Outer Port Limits Anchorage, or EOPL, about 70 kilometers off Malaysia’s coast. Shelley described it as an important staging area for Iran’s sanctioned energy trade with China. Ships can wait there, take on supplies and transfer cargo, offering Iranian exports a logistical route while U.S. naval forces patrol closer to Iran.

UANI had been tracking the SOGL before it reached Malaysian waters. On Sept. 16, the organization chartered a supply vessel and traveled about 100 nautical miles into the anchorage, where it observed ghost-fleet tankers and Iranian-flagged cargo ships, including the SOGL. Shelley said the tanker was a Handymax-class vessel carrying the LPG cargo.

The U.S. blockade was introduced on April 13, paused in mid-June and reinstated on July 14 after diplomatic talks fell apart. It has largely halted Iranian crude exports, cutting off a major source of revenue as Tehran faces mounting economic pressure.

Shelley said no Iranian crude had successfully left the region for export since the blockade returned. The small tankers that have made it through are exceptions, she said. U.S. forces are mainly focused on crude oil and very large tankers, which can carry around two million barrels at a time.

LPG, a flammable blend of hydrocarbons mainly made up of propane and butane, is used for heating, cooking, transport and industrial purposes. Shelley said U.S. forces typically try to turn vessels around, but using military force against a ship carrying LPG could be especially dangerous.

Smaller vessels, she said, rely on tactics associated with Iran’s so-called ghost fleet. They may switch off their Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponders, which broadcast a ship’s identity and position, or operate under false flags, making it harder to establish which country is responsible for them.

Some vessels load cargo in the Persian Gulf, pass through the Strait of Hormuz and then transfer goods to another tanker in the Gulf of Oman. Shelley described transferring LPG between ships as particularly risky. The receiving tanker then attempts to pass through the blockade.

The SOGL, identified by IMO number 9208227, was added to the U.S. Treasury Department’s sanctions list on Oct. 8 over allegations that it had carried Iranian petroleum products since 2025. It has sailed under several flags, including those of Comoros and Zimbabwe, and sanctions records link it to Gravion Maritime Co.

According to Shelley, ghost-fleet vessels often use false flags and complicated networks of front companies. The EOPL, around 10 days to two weeks’ sailing from Iran, has become a key stop for Iranian vessels heading toward Chinese buyers.

Tankers carrying Iranian crude may travel east to the anchorage and transfer their cargo to another ship bound for China. The area is also used to store oil aboard tankers, Shelley said, helping Iran keep exports moving after the blockade was reinstated. She estimated that Iranian floating storage has ranged from zero to seven million barrels since then.

UANI’s footage shows the SOGL sitting low in the water while receiving bunkering services from a smaller tanker. Shelley said ships at the anchorage commonly receive fuel, food and logistical support, in addition to using the area for cargo transfers. She suggested local authorities appeared to be turning a blind eye to the activity.

China is the main buyer of Iranian oil and LPG. Shelley said it accounted for about 80% of Iran’s liquid cargo exports for years, and that figure has since grown, with China now taking almost all of those exports. The arrangement allows Iran to keep selling despite sanctions, while Chinese buyers can purchase the products at a discount, she said.

The SOGL did not transfer its cargo to another ship at the EOPL, Shelley said. Instead, it sailed north into the South China Sea and eventually discharged the Iranian LPG at Xinzhou Port in China.

Bloomberg separately reported that the U.S.-sanctioned LPG carrier G Summer, which can carry about 7,000 cubic meters, was tracked transmitting signals from the Arabian Sea beyond the U.S. blockade line in April. The vessel’s signal indicated it had an all-Chinese crew. Shipping data listed Iran as its previous cargo country and Galle, Sri Lanka, as its stated destination.

CENTCOM was asked for comment.