Iran's Kharg Oil Exports Continue Despite Bombing, Trump's Seizure Threat

There has been no reduction in the number of supertankers loading crude oil from Iran's Kharg Island in recent weeks, despite parts of the island being bombed by US forces and threats by President Donald Trump to seize it.

Remote sensing data analysed by NDTV Datafy shows an average of three large oil tankers loading crude oil at Kharg Island each day since the US and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran on February 28.

US forces have struck targets on the island and President Trump has repeatedly threatened to seize the facility. On March 13, US Central Command conducted large-scale precision airstrikes targeting more than 90 military sites, including naval mine storage facilities, missile bunkers, and defence infrastructure on the island. A few days later, Israel bombed Iran's South Pars Gas Field.

Kharg Island is Iran's main energy hub and handles 80-90% of the country's oil exports.

There were only a few days since March 1 when two or fewer super tankers were seen loading oil at Kharg, according to optical and SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) imagery captured by the European Space Agency's Sentinel satellites. Of the days when open-source satellite imagery is available, there were no ships anchored at Kharg's terminals only on March 3. 

Most of the tankers spotted at Kharg were likely super tankers, known as Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) in the shipping industry. These ships carry approximately 2 million barrels, or 31.8 crore litres, of crude oil and are used for long-distance transport. A VLCC typically takes up to two days to fully load up.

Most of the vessels spotted loading oil at Kharg can be categorised as Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC)

Many of these vessels are sanctioned by the United States and form part of the so-called "dark fleet," according to maritime analysts. 

Exports have also continued from the Asaluyeh oil and gas terminal, located about 300 km from Kharg. 

The continued export from Iranian terminals signals Tehran's defiance as well as its willingness to exploit the supply shortage in the international markets. Energy supplies from other exporters in West Asia, such as the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, have fallen significantly due to Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and the decrease in production caused by attacks on oil facilities in the region.