Oil Firms Avoid Blacklisted Ships Amid Iran's Security Threats

Oil companies are taking precautions to avoid ships blacklisted by Iran for violating protocols when transiting the Strait of Hormuz. At least three Indian oil refiners and a major global energy firm have reportedly been planning to stop using vessels on the blacklist due to security risks.

Citing four informed sources, Reuters reported that the companies intend to avoid chartering the designated vessels as well as ship-to-ship (STS) transfers involving them. One of the unnamed sources stated, 'We will avoid our chartered vessels dealing or STS or anything to do with non-compliant ships for Middle Eastern cargoes.'

The move comes after Iran published a blacklist of 45 vessels that have violated its rules for transiting the strategic waterway, responsible for a fifth of global oil demand. The Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) warned that the banned ships could be fined, detained or have their cargo confiscated while those vessels assisting the blacklisted ones could also be penalized.

Some of the tankers on Iran's blacklist are owned or chartered by Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC). Ana Subasic, a trade risk analyst at shiptracking firm Kpler, said that compliance-sensitive buyers may avoid the vessels on Iran's list but the trade is more likely to reroute.