Iranian tanker Humanity continues oil sales off Malaysia despite US blockade

The Iranian oil tanker Humanity transited the Straits of Malacca and Singapore before turning northeast toward Malaysia, where it switched off its automatic identification system and entered the Eastern Outer Port Limits (EOPL), a 1,200‑square‑kilometre zone about 70 km off the Malaysian coast. Maritime security analysts say the vessel likely went dark to conduct a ship‑to‑ship transfer of its Iranian crude to a middleman.

The cargo is believed to be bound for China, which imports roughly 90 % of Iran’s oil. The EOPL has long functioned as an informal hub for sanctioned Iranian, Russian and Venezuelan oil. Satellite data shows activity there persisted throughout the five‑month U.S.–Israel conflict with Iran and continued despite a U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports that ran from 13 April to 18 June and resumed on 14 July. Ray Powell of the SeaLight project reported observing 62 vessels using false or decommissioned identities moving between the Gulf, the EOPL, Hong Kong and northern China. These ships form a network of middlemen supplying Iran’s oil to China’s independent “teapot” refineries, which are less exposed to U.S. financial restrictions.