Kharg Island Oil Exports Halted by US Naval Blockade

Tankers have stopped loading at Kharg Island in Iran, the country's principal oil export terminal, due to a renewed US naval blockade. According to shipping and satellite tracking firms, the disruption suggests that the blockade has effectively frozen Iran's crude exports.

The blockade returned in mid-July after an interim agreement brokered by Pakistan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz fell apart. Kharg Island handles nearly 90% of Iran's crude exports because most of the country's coastline is too shallow for large tankers.

Richard Bronze, head of geopolitics at Energy Aspects, said that the impact on tanker traffic has been clear: 'The blockade is effective, in the sense that there is not a lot of tanker movement in or out.'