Tanker Tracking

China is principally responsible for keeping the Iranian regime in business through oil purchases that have totaled over $90 billion since President Biden assumed office in January 2021 to December 2023. Four in every five barrels of exported Iranian oil go to China. This is despite U.S. sanctions that were reimposed in 2019 and maintained under the present administration, with the stated aim of reducing Iranian oil exports to zero.

U.S. and European economic restrictions have been in place on Syria since 2011, including measures prohibiting most oil trade with Syria. Despite this, Syria has been a consistent top-five destination for U.S.-sanctioned Iranian oil since at least 2011. Some 8 percent of total Iranian oil exports end up in Syria—a lot of it forwarded to Hezbollah in Lebanon—facilitated by IRGC smuggling networks.

Updated: May 1, 2024

Just as travelers may not generally enter other countries without a valid passport, ships may not dock at foreign ports without a recognized flag. So it was a significant step this month when the U.S.

Updated: March 1, 2024

The striking divergence between U.S. oil policy on Russia versus Iran was borne out again this month.

The Iran-backed Houthi terrorist group in Yemen has carried out a total of 30 piracy (hijacking), UAV, and anti-ship ballistic missile attacks on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since the first attack on November 19, 2023, the hijacking of the GALAXY LEADER (IMO: 9237307).

UANI’s final tanker tracker of the year reviews the topline data points for 2023 UANI’s impact, and offers prescriptions for 2024.

In the wake of Hamas’ massacre of 1,200 Israelis on October 7, Iran has taken advantage of the ensuing chaos to escalate its policy of maritime aggression. Some of Iran’s and Iranian proxies’ recent bold maneuvers include: the hijacking of and hostage-taking aboard MV Central Park; attacking the Israeli-owned container ship CMA CGM Symi using a bomb-carrying Iranian drone, and; launching missiles at the USS Mason.