Iran's Shadow Fleet Maneuvers Amid Conflict

Iran navigates geopolitical tensions by strategically moving its crude oil supply closer to China, utilizing a shadow fleet of tankers. Despite conflicts with Israel and U.S. sanctions, Iran maintains its crucial oil exports primarily to China, ensuring steady revenue from its 40 million barrel floating storage fleet.

Iran is deftly managing its crude oil exports by strategically repositioning its tankers closer to China, according to vessel tracking firms. This move comes as Iran grapples with geopolitical tensions and seeks to preserve a critical revenue stream amid ongoing threats from Israel.

The renewed conflict between Iran and Israel presents a new challenge for Iran, which has long used a fleet of tankers to obscure its oil's origin and circumvent U.S. sanctions imposed on its nuclear program. Nonetheless, Iran's crude exports, primarily destined for China, have thus far remained largely unperturbed by the hostilities.

Despite the missile exchanges targeting energy infrastructures in both countries, Iranian exports continue at around 1.7 million bpd this year. By positioning floating storage closer to China, Iran mitigates potential disruptions, maintaining steady supply chains even amidst heightened geopolitical risks.

(With inputs from agencies.)