A review of images from 4 satellites showed only two tankers at Iran's Khark Island berths on August 14 and 29, 2026, signaling a sharp decline in shipping activity from Iran's main oil-export hub as the naval blockade reinstated by US forces in July continued.
Only two tankers in nearly two months
Satellite images showed a decline in activity at Khark's berths from early August to September 24, with only two tankers appearing on two days in August despite about 15 tankers being in the vicinity of the island.
Tanker-tracking data also showed that no Iranian crude shipment had left through the Strait of Hormuz since last August. US Central Command chief Admiral Brad Cooper said on September 19 that the blockade had halted maritime trade from Iranian ports.
Restrictions on fleet movements in both directions
Iranian tankers face restrictions in both directions, with oil-laden vessels piling up in Gulf waters, while Reuters reported that 27 empty Iranian tankers were off the coast of Sri Lanka waiting to return to the region. This is reducing Tehran's ability to use tankers for floating storage.
Data from Kpler showed that US forces took control of 3 giant oil tankers linked to Iran — Linor, Tiffany and Majestic X — which were carrying a combined total of about 6 million barrels of oil before being moved toward ports in the United States.
Blockade resumed in July
US Central Command announced that it would resume the blockade on vessels entering and leaving Iranian ports and coastal areas from July 14, 2026, after it was initially imposed between April 13 and June 18.
The command said its forces had diverted more than 140 vessels and disrupted 9 non-compliant ships during the first phase, while allowing more than 50 commercial vessels carrying humanitarian aid to pass. On July 15, it announced that it had disrupted an empty oil tanker bound for Khark Island.
Pressure on storage and production
Naveen Das, Kpler's senior crude oil analyst, said the blockade had caused major disruption to Iran's oil system, alongside a decline in financial flows. Disrupted tanker movements are increasing the risk of storage facilities filling up and forcing producers to reduce supplies to coastal terminals.
Khark Island is Iran's largest oil-export terminal, and most of the country's crude exports pass through it, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration. That makes the decline in activity at its berths a direct indicator of the pressure on Tehran's oil trade.
