- Three tankers moored at Iran’s main export port this morning
- Ships left anchorage shortly after the missile strike on Israel
Iran is still exporting crude from its main Kharg Island terminal even after a flotilla of tankers fled nearby waters where they’d normally wait their turn to collect cargoes.
Three tankers, two very large crude carriers and one Aframax, were seen moored at the jetties to the east and west of the island on Tuesday morning, satellite imagery from Sentinel Hub show. Together, the ships can haul about 5 million barrels of crude.
The anchorage area — an expanse of water that the tankers vacated after Israeli pledges to retaliate against a Iranian missile salvo — remains empty with the ships having dispersed.
A prior image of the island, taken on Thursday, also showed the port in use. One VLCC was being pushed onto the eastern jetty by two tugs, with another approaching the terminal. A third, smaller, tanker was also just off the jetty.
President Joe Biden has sought to discourage Israel from attacking Iran’s oil infrastructure after crude prices surged on the rising tensions, pushing Brent above $80 a barrel for the first time since August.