US Directed Secret Ship-to-Ship Oil Transfers to Keep Gulf Crude Flowing
New intelligence reveals covert US operations coordinating ship to ship oil handoffs near the Strait of Hormuz, raising geopolitical and market stakes.
The United States monitored dozens of secret oil transfers between ships in the region to support energy supplies from the Persian Gulf to world markets. The operation was carried out using airborne and water drones, as well as helicopters, with the aim of directing convoys to the expected tankers.
Operation Details Emerge
The operation on the edge of the Hormuz Strait uses ship-to-ship transfer routes long known to Iran as a way to evade sanctions. Two specific places where these transfers take place were named by 11 sources familiar with the operation: one near the coast of Fujairah in the UAE and the other near the Sohar port in Oman. It began in early May, and according to shipping traffic monitoring data, at least 92 ships were involved in the transfers.
As of June 11, it was reported that 17 pairs of ships were simultaneously carrying out oil transfers in both areas.
US Response Following Apache Helicopter Downed
The Apache helicopter, shot down by Iran on June 9, became the catalyst for the U.S. response in the form of a series of airstrikes. According to sources, including a former American official, six pairs of tankers were sighted near Sohar on the day of the Apache’s downing. Satellite-imagery-based reconnaissance also indicates vessel activity in the area that day.
Official sources did not confirm the Apache’s role in this operation. In response to questions, a Defense Department spokesperson said that United States Central Command forces are not directly participating in offshore ship-to-ship transfers. Both crew members were rescued with the help of unmanned vessels.
Scale and Techniques of Transfers Revealed
Discussion of the scale of transfers, their techniques, and Apache’s involvement had not been publicly disclosed before. The White House referred questions to the relevant agencies, and the Iranian government did not respond to requests for comment on the operation.
Two transfer locations lie near lines in a zone designated as the “Persian Gulf Strait Authority” – a new Iranian body responsible for managing the Hormuz Strait. Vessels that do not follow Iran’s orders risk attack by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Global Market Impacts
The port of Fujairah endured repeated Iranian attacks during the ongoing U.S.-led operation. After one incident, a British risk-assessment group reported an unidentified projectile hitting a tanker off the Oman coast. The vessel’s crew was safe, but the cargo suffered minor leaks, and no ecological damage was recorded. It was not known whether the tanker was involved in the ship-to-ship transfers.
Iran answered the US-Israel conflict by effectively isolating the Hormuz Strait, through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil consumption typically passes. This triggered the largest-ever global disruptions in energy supplies and rising prices in most countries.
Such ship-to-ship transfers are a risky and not the most efficient way to supply, but they seem to be part of efforts to restore normal oil flows from the Persian Gulf under the constraints imposed by the conflict. Leaders of some producers and military experts warn that Iran could use drones or even attack vessels to hinder transit through the strait at any moment.
Regional Suppliers Gain Protection
This tactic has long been used by Iran to conceal the origin of oil: a pair of ships can evade inspection, but within this large-scale new ship-to-ship transfer scheme, regional suppliers gain better protection from possible strikes by Iran, allowing crude oil, condensate, and petroleum products to reach world markets.
According to monitoring and analysis, from the beginning of May to mid-June the amount of oil possibly moved through the offshore network is in the tens of millions of barrels. The volume is still below the prewar average of about 20 million barrels per day, but the very existence of such a scheme has significant implications for regional and global market dynamics.
Original Article: US directed secret ship-to-ship oil transfers to keep Gulf crude flowing — Mezha