Iran, whose crude exports have been blocked by a U.S. maritime blockade, has resorted to the desperate measure of relaunching even retired oil tankers. Analysts say the move is aimed at maintaining production as storage space quickly runs out.
On the 29th, local time, Bloomberg reported this, citing satellite image analysis. It said the Iran-flagged very large crude carrier (VLCC) Nasha, built in 1997, was recently confirmed to be anchored at Kharg Island, Iran's largest crude export hub. The vessel is an aging ship that effectively ceased activity after its last voyage about two to three years ago, cutting off its position signal. Shipping analytics firm Vortexa and the nonprofit group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) believe the Nasha has recently been reactivated. However, its actual operations or whereabouts had not been confirmed during that period.
Iran is now in a bind. As the U.S. Navy controls the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman, tankers carrying Iranian crude are stuck at sea, unable to move. According to Bloomberg, more than 20 tankers have recently massed in waters off Iranian ports near the Gulf of Oman. That is about four times more than before the blockade. Satellite images also captured 13 VLCCs anchored in waters east of Kharg Island.
Crude loadings have plunged. According to energy analytics firm Kpler, since the U.S. maritime blockade began on the 13th, Iran's crude loadings have fallen 73% to 567,000 barrels per day recently from an average of 2.1 million barrels per day.
The problem is now internal. Crude keeps being produced, but with export routes blocked, storage is filling up fast. As unsold crude piles up as domestic inventory, Iran's onshore stocks surpassed 46 million barrels 10 days into the blockade. Kpler warned, "At the current pace, Iran's storage capacity has, at most, about three weeks left."
As the situation grew urgent, the National Iranian Oil Company began reactivating shuttered storage tanks in southern oil hubs such as Ahvaz and Asaluyeh. Iran had already used tankers as "floating storage," but as even that fell short, it pulled out the option of repurposing retired vessels.
Iran's fixation on securing storage space stems from the severe damage caused by halting field operations. About half of Iran's oil fields are aging, low-pressure fields, and once operations stop, the geological structure can be damaged, making it difficult to restore production capacity to prior levels. Energy consultancy Rystad Energy warned that a prolonged shutdown could lead to a permanent loss of production capacity.
Still, experts see these steps as merely buying time. Xavier Tang of Vortexa said, "Restarting aging vessels can help in the short term, but it does not solve the fundamental issue of the U.S. blockade," adding, "Ultimately, the key variable is when Iran decides to cut crude production."
Meanwhile, the United States is ratcheting up the blockade. U.S. President Donald Trump recently said on social media (SNS), "Iran doesn't know how to reach a denuclearization deal," warning, "We won't tolerate it any longer." The U.S. Navy has intensified pressure by blocking the movement of tankers carrying Iranian crude.