Iranian Oil Tanker Arrives at Malaysia's 'Grey Zone' Despite Blockade

The Iranian oil tanker Humanity sailed through the Straits of Malacca and Singapore before veering northeast towards the coast of Malaysia. Satellite tracking data showed it arrived at the Eastern Outer Port Limits (EOPL) of Malaysia, a 1,200-square-kilometre expanse of water in the South China Sea about 70km off the shore.

The tanker was likely preparing to offload its cargo of Iranian oil in a ship-to-ship transfer to a waiting middleman. Its ultimate destination is likely China, which historically buys about 90 percent of Iran's crude oil exports, according to the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

Maritime security experts say the EOPL has served as an unofficial marketplace for sanctioned Iranian, Russian, and Venezuelan oil for decades. Despite a five-month-long war on Iran and a US naval blockade of its ports, satellite data shows that EOPL activity has continued.