UAE Quietly Moves Oil Tankers Through Blockaded Strait of Hormuz, Defying Iranian Threats

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DUBAI — The United Arab Emirates has secretly resumed limited crude exports through the heavily blockaded Strait of Hormuz, using tankers with their tracking systems switched off to evade Iranian attacks, according to industry sources and shipping data reviewed by Reuters .

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) managed to export at least 4 million barrels of Upper Zakum crude and 2 million barrels of Das crude aboard four tankers in April, marking the first known shipments since Iran effectively closed the waterway after the U.S.-Israeli war began on February 28 .

The cargoes were either transferred via ship-to-ship (STS) transfers to vessels bound for Southeast Asian refineries, unloaded into storage in Oman, or sailed directly to South Korean refineries, according to three sources familiar with the matter .

🛡️ Risky Strategy: AIS Transponders Off to Avoid Detection

The tankers moved with their Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponders turned off, a tactic commonly employed by Iran to skirt sanctions on its oil exports and one that drastically reduces the chance of being spotted by Iranian forces .

The strategy carries immense risk. On May 4, the UAE accused Iran of launching drone strikes on an empty ADNOC tanker, the MV Barakah, as it transited the Strait . Days earlier, the HMM NAMU, a South Korean-operated vessel, was also struck in an attack analysts believe was deliberate and coordinated with the wider escalation .

Industry data confirms the perilous environment:

The HMS were likely deliberate, occurring the same day as the ADNOC Barakah drone strike and the attack on the Fujairah Oil Zone — indicating coordinated targeting against both commercial shipping and Emirati energy infrastructure .

📉 The Cost of Covert Shipping

Splitting the cargo via STS allows ADNOC to sell smaller parcels and frees up the Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) to quickly return inside the Gulf for more loadings . One Upper Zakum parcel split off and sold to a Northeast Asian refinery fetched a record premium of $20 a barrel over ADNOC’s official selling price .

The alternative is stark: without these shipments, the oil sits bottled up. Since the war began, ADNOC has been forced to cut exports by more than 1 million barrels per day from the 3.1 million bpd it shipped last year .

These covert exports represent just a fraction of the UAE’s pre-war capacity. Most of its exports are Murban grade, which is piped from onshore fields directly to Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman, bypassing the Strait entirely — a key reason why the UAE has been less economically crippled than neighbors like Kuwait, which recorded zero crude exports in April .

🌍 Regional Context: The Blockade Standoff

Iran effectively shut the Strait to all but its own exports in retaliation for U.S.-Israeli strikes on February 28, effectively bottling up a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supply . The U.S. responded with its own naval blockade of Iranian ports, creating a dual-strangulation that has kept global oil prices elevated above $100 per barrel.

But cracks are forming. The limited UAE exports demonstrate that oil is beginning to trickle out again, marking the first physical breach of the Iranian chokehold. However, the risk is exceptionally high. On Monday, May 4, Iran launched a coordinated attack on UAE energy infrastructure, striking the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone with missiles and drones. Fujairah exports collapsed from typical levels of 3.5–4 million barrels per day to approximately 500,000 barrels per day following the attack .

The IRGC has since published an expanded maritime control zone explicitly covering the waters off the UAE’s eastern coast. Hours earlier, the same day, Iranian forces had attacked the ADNOC tanker inside that zone .

🕵️ The ‘Dark Fleet’ Operator’s Dilemma

The Strait of Hormuz is now an electronically degraded battlefield. GPS jamming has intensified around the key UAE export hub of Fujairah, and widespread AIS shutdowns have reduced maritime visibility to a fraction of normal levels . Operators face an impossible choice:

• Broadcast AIS → Increased risk of Iranian targeting
• Suppress AIS → Risk of U.S. detention or attack (Iran has detained vessels solely for turning off their transponders)

At least one sanctioned Iranian tanker has adapted by routing through the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra, avoiding the more visible Malacca Strait choke point .

ADNOC has notified some customers that it intends to continue selling oil from inside the strait, offering Das and Upper Zakum crude loadings from May via STS transfers at ports outside the Gulf including Fujairah and Oman’s Sohar .

As the U.S. and Iran continue indirect negotiations in Geneva, the covert movement of oil through the Strait underlines a new reality: even as diplomats talk, commercial forces are forcing a quiet reopening of the world’s most critical oil chokepoint — one darkened tanker at a time.

📋 Key Takeaways for Reflecto News Readers

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