Iranian Oil Tanker Stranded in Chabahar Port as US Naval Blockade Nears 'Export Cutoff' Point

BlockBeats News, April 28th, According to shipping monitoring agencies and satellite data, the export of Iranian oil is rapidly becoming stagnant due to the impact of the U.S. Navy blockade. A large number of oil-laden supertankers have gathered near the Chabahar Port, just a stone's throw away from the U.S. military control line.

Data shows that currently, 6 to 8 VLCC very large crude carriers and several medium-sized oil tankers are in a state of anchorage in the Arabian Gulf region. A week ago, the U.S. military intercepted and redirected the routes of two large oil tankers in the area.

With the transportation function of the Strait of Hormuz nearing paralysis, Iran's offshore floating storage has increased to about 155 million barrels of crude oil. To maintain exports, Iran has even reactivated 30-year-old, previously decommissioned oil tankers.

Kpler data shows that Iran's remaining oil storage space can only sustain for about 12 to 22 days. If the blockade continues, the market expects Iran to start reducing production as early as mid-May, with cuts possibly reaching 1.5 million barrels per day.

Export data has also significantly deteriorated. Iran's average daily crude oil exports in March were still around 1.85 million barrels, but have recently dropped to about 567,000 barrels, a decrease of about 70%.

Analysis points out that since Iran's crude oil is mainly sold to Asia through indirect channels, the revenue impact usually lags behind by 3 to 4 months, so the current blockade's impact on fiscal revenue has not yet been fully reflected.