A network of aging tankers continues to move Iranian crude to China despite U.S. sanctions and a naval blockade. The transfers occur in international waters off Malaysia. Negotiators have reached a tentative 60-day ceasefire framework that could ease the blockade.
The Wall Street Journal observed ship-to-ship transfers in early May near the Eastern Outer Port Limits, roughly 45 miles off Malaysia’s coast. Sanctioned tankers offload cargo to anonymized vessels that then head to Chinese refineries. Iran earned about $31 billion from oil sales to China over the past year, covering nearly 45 percent of its government budget.
