US Blockade Halts 90% of Iran Oil Loadings at Kharg for 1 Week
Updated
Updated · Financial Times · Aug 7
US Blockade Halts 90% of Iran Oil Loadings at Kharg for 1 Week
3 articles · Updated · Financial Times · Aug 7
Summary
Kharg Island has seen no tanker loadings since July 31, shipping and satellite data show, stopping exports from the terminal that handles about nine in 10 barrels of Iran’s crude shipments.
The standstill followed Washington’s mid-July reimposition of a naval blockade after an interim Strait of Hormuz reopening deal collapsed; Windward said all three Kharg berths were empty and only 16 vessels were waiting nearby on Tuesday.
UANI said it has not identified a single tanker carrying newly loaded Iranian crude leaving the Gulf since July 12, though Iran is still collecting revenue from earlier cargoes now arriving near Malaysia for transfer toward China.
Energy Aspects said Kharg storage tanks have not filled sharply, suggesting Tehran may already be cutting oil production, while empty tankers that discharged in Asia have not returned to Iranian waters.
Brent crude traded just under $82 a barrel as markets awaited a new Hormuz shipping arrangement; a person briefed on the talks said the US would lift the blockade if an Oman-mediated route deal is accepted.