US Reimposes Blockade on Iranian Ports as Two Oil Tankers Head to Pakistan

As the US military resumed its maritime blockade against Iran today, two oil tankers transporting Iranian crude oil signaled a change in destination to Karachi, Pakistan. Bloomberg reports this unusual maneuver may suggest that tankers are seeking safe locations to wait as the blockade takes effect.

According to vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg, the tankers Rani and Amil, carrying a combined one million barrels of crude oil, altered their destination signals to Karachi, Pakistan, today. Both vessels were already outside the Persian Gulf when the US reinstated its maritime blockade on Iranian shipping.

It is unlikely that the two tankers will offload cargo in Pakistan, as doing so would expose Pakistan to the risk of violating US sanctions. Moreover, according to data intelligence firm Kpler, Pakistan has not imported any Iranian crude oil for at least ten years.

Bloomberg suggests the vessels may be heading to Pakistani waters to wait or to transfer cargo to other ships. Iranian oil tankers have previously lingered in waters near Karachi.

According to the nonprofit organization United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), during previous US blockades, several Iran-linked empty oil tankers idled in the area, remaining close to the Persian Gulf to await opportunities to return and load more cargo.

Charlie Brown, a UANI advisor, stated, "If this trend reemerges, it may reflect industry assessment that waters near Pakistan offer a relatively safe location to observe developments, rather than a genuine intent to offload Iranian oil or cargo into Pakistan."

Bloomberg also notes that waters near eastern Malaysia remain one of the primary waiting zones for Iran-linked oil tankers, a hotspot for ship-to-ship transfers of cargo bound for China.