Iranian tanker breaks US blockade and reaches Indonesia

An Iranian tanker named Huge has bypassed the US naval blockade and reached Indonesia, Bloomberg reports, citing data from TankerTrackers.

According to the company’s satellite tracking, the tanker—sailing under the Iranian flag—was anchored near the port of Chabahar on April 13, shortly before the United States announced a blockade of Iranian ports. On May 3, the vessel signalled its position near the coast of Bali, with satellite imagery confirming its location.

TankerTrackers noted that Huge appears to be the only tanker to have successfully passed through the blockade so far.

Earlier, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) stated that it had blocked around 50 vessels since the start of the operation on April 13 and had been redirecting Iranian tankers back toward Chabahar. Bloomberg also reported a growing number of Iranian ships stranded in waters near the port in recent days.

By Jeyhun Aghazada