Sanctioned Iranian Tanker Slips Past U.S. Blockade, Delivers Cargo to China
A sanctioned Iranian tanker carrying about 500,000 barrels of liquefied petroleum gas slipped past the U.S. naval blockade and delivered its cargo to China, according to United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), which says it filmed the ship at a Malaysian anchorage along the way.
The vessel, the SOGL (IMO 9208227), loaded Iranian LPG at Assaluyeh Port in late August and got past the blockade on Sept. 1, UANI told Fox News. The group says it chartered a supply boat and ran about 100 nautical miles out to the EOPL anchorage off Malaysia on Sept. 16, where it filmed the SOGL taking on fuel and services, before the tanker sailed north into the South China Sea and discharged at Xinzhou Port in China.
U.S. Blockade Effective Against Iranian Crude Oil Exports
Since the blockade was reinstated in July, “only around nine small tankers carrying Iranian LPG have successfully passed the blockade line,” UANI wrote in its Oct. 29 shipping update. On crude, the blockade is holding: the group says it hasn’t tracked a single tanker laden with Iranian crude that left the Gulf of Oman and avoided U.S. enforcement since July 12.
The US blockade on Iran has been very effective. Since 14 JUL, the US maritime blockade on vessels coming and going from Iranian ports has prevented Iran from exporting any of its crude oil. The US blockade on Iran has been very effective. Since 14 JUL, the US maritime blockade on vessels coming and going from Iranian ports has prevented Iran from exporting any of its crude oil. During September, UANI satellite monitoring has also observed no crude oil loadings taking place across Iranian oil export hubs. Loadings were limited strictly to non-crude cargoes, including small volumes of LPG, naphtha and fuel oil. — See the @UANI September monthly report: https://t.co/bKEaPZ0S1z — @JemimaShelley @mercoglianos @TankerTrackers @JonathanEmont @MarcusHand1 @tldraanan @brentdsadler @KasraAarabi @cdrsalamander — Charlie B (@supbrow) October 8, 2026
Iranian Tankers Use Creative Tactics to Evade U.S. Blockade
UANI senior analyst Jemima Shelley told Fox that the small tankers switch off their AIS transponders, often fly a false flag so they present as stateless, run the Strait of Hormuz, and hand the cargo to another ship in the Gulf of Oman, which then tries the blockade line. Doing that with LPG is risky, she said, which is also why U.S. forces mostly try to turn the small gas tankers around rather than use force.
Malaysia’s EOPL Anchorage Key Node in Iran’s Oil Trade to China
Shelley called Malaysia’s EOPL anchorage a “key node in Iran’s oil trade to China” and said Malaysian authorities appear to be “looking the other way.” UANI counts about 20 tankers from its “Ghost Armada” list still loitering at the EOPL, and another 22 anchored or loitering just north of it, which it says most likely moved after recent enforcement by Malaysian maritime authorities.
China Now Takes Almost 100% of Iran’s Oil and LPG Exports
China now takes “almost 100%” of Iran’s oil and LPG exports, Shelley said, up from about 80% of Iran’s liquid cargo exports in earlier years.
Vessels Mentioned
- SOGL (IMO: 9208227)
- DANDELION (IMO: 9379404)
Original Article: Sanctioned Iranian Tanker Slips Past U.S. Blockade, Delivers Cargo to China — Oilprice