Iranian Oil Tanker 'Humanity' Sails Through Malaysian Waters Amid Blockade
The Iranian oil tanker 'Humanity' sailed through the Straits of Malacca and Singapore before heading towards the coast of Malaysia, where it turned off its automatic identification system (AIS). Satellite tracking data showed the 330-metre crude oil tanker arrived at the Eastern Outer Port Limits (EOPL) of Malaysia, a 1,200-square-kilometre expanse of water in the South China Sea.
Maritime security experts believe the tanker went 'dark' as it prepared to offload its cargo of Iranian oil through a ship-to-ship transfer. The cargo's 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.
The EOPL has served as an unofficial marketplace for sanctioned Iranian, Russian, and Venezuelan oil for decades, analysts say. Despite a US naval blockade of Iranian ports from April 13 to June 18 and its resumption on July 14, satellite data shows that EOPL activity continued throughout the five-month-long United States-Israel war on Iran.