The US naval blockade against Iranian shipping has taken its toll on the country’s oil exports. Loadings from Iran’s primary Kharg Island export terminal are down sharply this month, with no cargoes recorded since 6 May, according to data intelligence firm Kpler. However, satellite imagery shows two tankers berthed at the terminal on 21 May, suggesting that loadings may have resumed.
Loadings averaged 1.64mn b/d in March, the last full month before the US implemented the blockade on 13 April. They dropped to 1.34mn b/d in April and are set to fall below 500,000 b/d this month, a much steeper decline than seen during sanctions enforcement in the first Trump administration. Some of this can be attributed to a rerouting of some loadings to Iran’s Jask terminal, which bypasses the Strait of Hormuz but still lies behind the US blockade. (CONTINUED - 1072 WORDS)
