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Here's more:
https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/27/asia/eopl-oil-iran-shadow-fleet-war-intl-hnk
The lawless floating gas station where Iranian oil changes hands
Updated Apr 27, 2026
By Lex Harvey,Isaac Yee
From the link:
In the year leading up to its dramatic seizure by US forces in the Indian Ocean, the oil tanker known as the MT Tifani made several trips between Iran and a stretch of water off the coast of Malaysia, around 60 miles from the glitzy skyscrapers of Singapore.
During these trips, it often loitered in a small area before dropping anchor and switching off its mandatory automatic identification system (AIS), according to MarineTraffic data reviewed by CNN.
A while later — sometimes hours, sometimes days — the ship would reappear on AIS.
The seizure of the MT Tifani on Tuesday — and the 1.9 million barrels of Iranian oil US authorities say it was carrying — has pushed the war with Iran into the waters of the Indo-Pacific, thousands of miles from the Persian Gulf.
It's also put a spotlight on this patch of water off Malaysia, roughly half the size of Rhode Island, which expert and CNN analysis shows acts as a floating gas station for Iran, used by its shadow fleet to trade and store oil, funneling desperately needed cash to the regime as the war grinds on.
Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite imagery shows ships inside the Eastern Outer Port Limit off Malaysia's coast on April 18th, 2026. Sentinel 1/European Space Agency
Here's more from the link:
Most of its shadow fleet consists of Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), according to energy data firm Vortexa — massive tankers like the MT Tifani which can hold up to 2 million barrels of oil.
Much of its sanctioned oil sells at a discount of about $10 less than the global benchmark Brent crude, which has surged above $100 per barrel since the war began, meaning each ship-to-ship transfer nets tens of millions of dollars in revenue for Iran's regime.
The activity in the EOPL has continued since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran at the end of February, restricting the flow of oil from the Middle East. UANI tracked at least 250 ship-to-ship transfers in the EOPL anchorage between January and April 21 of this year.
Iran's use of this area has allowed it to maintain a steady flow of exports throughout the war, bankrolling the regime even as the world contends with a severe oil shortage.
“It's essential to Iran's business model,” said Charlie Brown, senior adviser to UANI, focusing on Iran's shadow fleet.
How the ‘cargo laundering business’ works Ship-to-ship transfers are a routine part of legitimate long-haul shipping, used to boost efficiency and avoid ports.
Large oil tankers frequently offload their cargo to smaller ships because their draft is too deep to enter most ports.(This likely also accomodates the smaller teapot refineries which may or may not accommodate larger ships.) But because these maneuvers carry safety and environmental risks, they are highly regulated and must be done in approved areas, requiring thorough documentation and notification of coastal authorities.
Shadow fleets use ship-to-ship transfers, even when logistically unnecessary, to obscure the origin of the oil they are carrying. They frequently conduct them under the cover of night, shutting off or spoofing(disguising their location) their AIS, making them difficult for authorities to detect.
Broadly speaking, Iran's shadow oil trade follows a similar pattern, involving two sets of ships that help deliver Iranian crude to China.
Ships from the first set pick up the oil, mainly from Iran's primary export facility Kharg Island, and sail across the Indian Ocean through the Malacca and Singapore straits, before anchoring off Malaysia.
MarineTraffic data shows multiple journeys the MT Tifani took between the Persian Gulf and the EOPL from April 2025 until its seizure by US forces in April 2026.
Marine Traffic
Ships from the second set then receive the oil by ship-to-ship transfer and take it to China, mainly to “teapot” refineries in Shandong province, which are known for buying sanctioned crude.
China does not officially declare Iranian crude imports and often obscures the origin of the oil as Malaysian, said Ying Cong Loh, a crude-oil market analyst at Kpler.
Shadow fleets also forge documents and fly false flags or “flags of convenience,” frequently changing their registration and misrepresenting their cargo to fool authorities.
“They create a new narrative for the new cargo and the new ship,” said Nadimi of the Washington Institute, adding that crew sometimes go as far as to paint a new name or flag on the ship. “This is a cargo laundering business.”
Nefarious activity in the EOPL has long been an open secret in the shipping industry. Brown estimates about 95% of vessels transferring cargo in the area are smuggling Iranian or Russian oil to China.
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more from Brave AI' Iran smuggles crude oil to China primarily through a sophisticated shadow fleet of aging, often uninsured tankers that evade detection by turning off or spoofing their Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponders. These vessels, which can number up to 1,000 ships including Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), transport Iranian crude from Kharg Island to the Eastern Outer Port Limits (EOPL), a legal gray zone in Malaysia's exclusive economic zone, where they conduct covert ship-to-ship (STS) transfers.
During these transfers, sanctioned tankers offload their cargo onto other vessels, often under the cover of night, to obscure the oil's origin. The oil is then rebranded as coming from countries like Malaysia or Indonesia and shipped to China, where it is processed by independent “teapot” refineries in Shandong province. This network allows Iran to bypass US and UN sanctions, with China accounting for roughly 90% of Iran's oil exports and providing approximately $31 billion in annual revenue to Tehran.
The operation is sustained by Chinese logistical support, including the registration of tanker owners in Chinese cities, the deployment of Chinese crews, and official state directives instructing domestic firms to ignore US sanctions. Despite US enforcement efforts, such as blockades and sanctions on individual vessels, the trade remains resilient due to the fleet's operational maturity, with voyage duration stabilizing and STS operations becoming faster and more efficient.
Approximately 90 million barrels of Iranian oil have been estimated to remain outside US blockades, stored offshore or en route, ensuring continued revenue flows into late 2026.
4,651 posted on 8/2/2026, 7:50:30 AM by rodguy911 (HOME OF THE FREE BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE!! ITS ALL A CONSPIRACY: UNTIL ITS NOT)) [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4650 | View Replies | Report Abuse]