Reuters: U.S. Runs Secret Oil Transfer Network to Bypass Hormuz Closure

Reuters reports that since early May, the United States has been running a covert, large-scale operation to keep oil flowing from Gulf states to global markets, using a method strongly associated with Iran. The system is centered on ship-to-ship transfers at sea, outside the Strait of Hormuz, where the U.S. military is overseeing dozens of oil handoffs between tankers.

The operation uses naval and aerial drones, helicopters and other surveillance tools to guide tanker convoys to meeting points off Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates and near the port of Sohar in Oman. Satellite-tracking data reviewed in the investigation showed that at least 92 ships had been involved since the start of May. Images from June 11 showed 17 pairs of vessels transferring oil at the same time.

The report says an American Apache helicopter that was shot down by Iran on June 9, an incident that later led to U.S. retaliatory strikes, was part of a mission connected to the operation, though its exact role could not be determined. According to people familiar with the matter, participating tankers sail in fixed intervals, switch off transponders and dim their lights, then attach to larger tankers and transfer cargo for 24 to 40 hours after leaving Hormuz.

Reuters estimates that at least 90 million barrels of oil and refined products have moved through the network since early May. That is still small compared with normal traffic through Hormuz before the crisis, which was about 20 million barrels a day. The move was designed to counter Iran’s closure of the strait amid the Iran-Israel war and the resulting shock to global energy markets. Security and shipping sources warned that the method carries major risks, including collisions from darkened nighttime sailing and possible Iranian attacks. The U.S. does not escort the ships directly, but provides intelligence, air surveillance and compliance checks, and vessels must be cleared by U.S. Navy officials in Bahrain before joining the transfers.