Gulf countries secretly ship oil through the Strait of Hormuz

The covert passage of tankers through the critical strait has become a vital supply channel for global markets, which were bracing for a much more severe supply shortage following the outbreak of war in the Middle East, Bloomberg reports.

The situation remains tense for regional producers, as ships continue to come under attack even under the protection of warships.

The shuttle trades have been ongoing for several months, but tracking exactly how much oil these "shadow" vessels are transporting is difficult for both traders and analysts, as crews, concerned about safety, rarely disclose information about the vessels' locations. According to sources, the volume of such shipments exceeds 4 million barrels per day, but the sources did not specify the exact volume.

The United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Qatar, and Kuwait are transporting oil using this scheme.

The scale of the operation is confirmed by the European Union's Sentinel-1 satellites. Currently, approximately 150 vessels—from large oil tankers to bulk carriers—are anchored off the coast of Oman, down from approximately 40 in January. Most of them are awaiting unloading oil from tankers passing through the strait with their transponders turned off.

The UAE's national oil company, Adnoc, has already sold approximately 135 million barrels of oil to buyers worldwide and announced a new round of sales.

Despite this, the transportation is fraught with significant risks. Since the beginning of the conflict, 23 Adnoc vessels have been attacked, resulting in one crew member being killed and 20 injured. Sources claim the actual number of incidents in the strait exceeds the officially acknowledged figure.

Saudi Arabia, which previously had little reliance on shuttle shipping, is also showing signs of intensifying such operations in the Persian Gulf due to the growing threat to shipping in the Red Sea from the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Last week, two ships loaded oil at the giant Saudi export hub of Ras Tanura, while the national tanker company Bahri has amassed 16 supertankers with a combined capacity of 38 million barrels off the coast of Oman and is awaiting the arrival of three more.

Photo: modern.az.