Intensifying attacks in the Persian Gulf have led Iran to dramatically accelerate its oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz overnight amid threats by the US to renew its naval blockade of Iranian ports.
According to maritime monitoring firm TankerTrackers, Iran exported around 10 million barrels of crude oil and fuel in a single night, marking a sharp increase in shipments.
The surge comes after Iran managed to move approximately 60 million barrels of oil through the strait over the previous three weeks, according to data from Windward Intelligence.
Likewise, shipping activity through the water corridor once again declined rapidly on Wednesday due to mounting uncertainty over the security situation, prompting many tanker operators to delay movements.
As per data obtained from MarineTraffic, only 25 vessels crossed the strait on Wednesday, down from 49 the previous day, with most of those crossings reportedly involving ships leaving the Persian Gulf rather than entering it.
However, despite the renewed US sanctions on Iranian oil exports announced earlier this week, Chinese demand appears largely unaffected with Windward Intelligence reporting approximately 32.3 million barrels of Iranian crude are currently enroute to China aboard vessels linked to the so-called shadow fleet that operates outside traditional shipping networks.
Other than the UAE, which has shipped as much as 65 million barrels of oil after the strait reopened, Iranian exports have surpassed all other oil producers. The regime makes 50% of its revenue off of oil sales, which are crucial to the country’s post-war economic recovery.
Meanwhile, Iranian media also published images on Thursday showing damage allegedly caused by a US airstrike near the southern port city of Asaluyeh in Bushehr Province.
Local authorities said two projectiles struck a fishing pier shortly after 9 a.m. local time, causing fires aboard several vessels.
According to the provincial governor, at least ten fishing boats caught fire following the attack. The extent of the damage and whether there were any casualties was not immediately clear.
The imagery obtained by CNN from Iran’s semi-official IRGC-affiliated Fars News Agency showed several burned boats at the pier while a video broadcast by the semi-official Mehr News Agency showed smoke billowing from strikes at what appeared to be the same location.
