Sanctioned tanker reportedly evades US naval blockade

A sanctioned liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanker successfully loaded cargo at Iran’s Kharg Island on May 16, slipping through a US Navy blockade undetected, according to tanker tracking firm TankerTrackers.com, News.Az reports, citing Al Jazeera.

The vessel had last been detected using AIS (automatic identification system), which is used to track ships, nearly two weeks earlier off the coast of India before it went dark.

Satellite imagery from the European Space Agency’s Copernicus Sentinel-2 confirmed that loading activity took place at Kharg Island.

Kharg Island is responsible for handling the vast majority of Iran’s crude oil and gas exports and has long been considered a key focal point of US naval monitoring and enforcement efforts.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev