Reports said two ships belonging to Iran's state-run shipping company departed for Iran from a chemical storage port in China. The company is under U.S. sanctions, and the ships are believed to be carrying raw materials needed to make missiles.
According to the Washington Post on the 8th, the Shabdis and Barzin, ships belonging to the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), were spotted loading cargo and departing for Iran from Gaolan Port in Zhuhai in southeastern China. IRISL is among corporations sanctioned by the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union (EU), and the U.S. State Department has described the company as a preferred means of transport for procurement networks tied to Iran's nuclear and missile proliferation activities.
Gaolan Port, where the two ships were berthed, is the largest chemical storage terminal in southern China and is known in particular as a key hub for loading sodium perchlorate, a critical precursor involved in producing solid rocket fuel. Sodium perchlorate is used to produce ammonium perchlorate, a key ingredient in solid propellants for ballistic missiles.
AIS (Automatic Identification System) data showed that both the Barzin and the Shabdis had deeper drafts when they departed after arriving at Gaolan Port. A ship's draft is the vertical depth that sits below the waterline, and a deeper draft suggests cargo has been loaded. Maritime intelligence firm Polus—Polestar Defense also assessed that the two vessels loaded cargo at Gaolan Port.
The Barzin is currently anchored in waters near Malaysia and is expected to head to Iran's Bandar Abbas, about 6,400 kilometers away. The Shabdis is sailing to Chabahar in Iran, with about 7,200 kilometers left on its route. Both ports are strategic hubs near the Strait of Hormuz where Iranian naval bases are located, and in recent days, satellite images captured plumes of black smoke rising from multiple locations around Bandar Abbas.
Experts are noting that China allowed these departures as tensions between the United States and Israel drag on. Isaac Kardon, a researcher at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said, "China could have blocked the departures through administrative delays or customs holds, but it did not," adding, "This may be a deliberate policy choice made during wartime."
In fact, at least 12 IRISL vessels have visited Gaolan Port this year. Most of the ships berthed at the same terminal, and draft-change analyses suggest that most loaded cargo. Some ships are known to have carried sodium perchlorate in the past.
Notably, in mid-Feb., shortly after the United States massed military power near the Iranian strait and nuclear talks collapsed, IRISL ships were observed loading cargo almost daily at Gaolan Port. Analysis of AIS voyage records showed that many of the ships discharged cargo at Shahid Rajaee, Iran's largest container port.
The United States previously criticized China for providing missile-related technology and materials to Iran, but China has dismissed the allegations, saying most of it involves civilian transactions or dual-use goods. However, sodium perchlorate has limited civilian applications and is known to be used only in certain areas such as rocket fuel and fireworks, and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) at the U.S. Treasury released sanctions last year on sodium perchlorate flowing from China to Iran.
Experts say this shipment suggests China is moving away from its balanced diplomacy strategy in the Middle East. Grant Rumley, a researcher at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said, "Amid ongoing missile and drone attacks on Gulf countries, moves to support Iran could worsen relations between China and the Gulf states," calling it "a highly unusual and bold strategy for China."
Meanwhile, some Iranian vessels have recently altered planned routes after U.S. and Israeli airstrikes. Three ships—the Hamuna, the Abiyan, and the Arzin—that were headed for Bandar Abbas changed their AIS destinations to "high seas" after the strikes, and on the 7th they were observed lingering near Iranian waters. Another ship, the Vasht, stopped transmitting AIS data on the 5th in waters about 21 kilometers off Bandar Abbas.