Two sanctioned tankers carrying 1 million barrels of Iranian oil head towards Karachi waters

Two US-sanctioned tankers carrying a combined 1 million barrels of Iranian crude have changed their destination signals to Karachi, raising the possibility that they may use Pakistani waters as a temporary holding area while the US naval blockade remains in force, according to Bloomberg.

Ship-tracking data showed that the Rani and the Amil switched their stated destinations to Karachi on Tuesday. Both vessels were already outside the Persian Gulf when Washington reinstated restrictions on Iranian shipping.

The tankers are unlikely to discharge their cargoes in Pakistan because doing so could expose the country to US sanctions. Pakistan has not imported Iranian crude for at least a decade, according to data intelligence firm Kpler.

Instead, the vessels may remain offshore or transfer their cargoes to other tankers. Iranian oil carriers have previously waited near Karachi during periods of tighter US enforcement.

Charlie Brown, an adviser to United Against Nuclear Iran, said the shift could indicate that operators view waters near Pakistan as a relatively secure location to monitor developments, rather than evidence of plans to deliver Iranian oil to the country.

Xavier Tang, senior market analyst at Vortexa, said the vessels may be travelling closer to Pakistan to avoid US naval patrols and could be using Karachi as a waypoint.

Many other tankers carrying Iranian crude have recently listed Singapore as their next destination. Waters off eastern Malaysia are also frequently used by Iran-linked vessels for ship-to-ship transfers, particularly for cargoes bound for China.

Such transfers are sometimes carried out with vessel transponders switched off or during periods of limited visibility to avoid detection.

The Rani is a suezmax tanker, while the Amil is a medium-range vessel. Both are part of the network commonly described as Iran’s dark fleet.

Maritime database Equasis identifies Panama-based Starboard Shipping Inc-Pan as the owner and manager of the Rani.

The Amil is owned by Malaysia-based Amelie Ltd and managed by Hong Kong-based Espoir Shipping Ltd. Equasis lists no contact details for Starboard or Espoir, while the telephone number provided for Amelie was not operational.