Tanker slips past blockade – with millions of barrels of oil

TT

Published 08.10

 

The Strait of Hormuz seen from the United Arab Emirates. Image from Friday. Photo: Fatima Shbair/AP/TT

An Iranian supertanker carrying almost two million barrels of crude oil has managed to escape the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

The ship Huge was last seen off the coast of Sri Lanka over a week ago and is now heading through the Lombok Strait in Indonesia, according to maritime intelligence firm Tankertrackers on X.

It is not known exactly when or how the ship managed to escape the blockade, but it is clear that the ship was in Iranian waters on April 13, when the US announced its blockade.

Huge is said to be carrying more than 1.9 million barrels of crude oil worth around $220 million.

The data has not been confirmed by the United States, but state Iranian media claims that over 50 Iranian ships had managed to escape the American blockade until last week.