Tanker Tally at Iran’s Kharg Island Hits Post-Blockade Peak

Some 23 tankers have been spotted around Iran’s principal oil-export hub, the largest cluster to have gathered at the island since the US Navy began a blockade on the country’s ports a month ago, interdicting and seizing ships.

The carriers — in anchorages around Kharg, berthed at crude- or liquefied petroleum gas-loading jetties — were visible on satellite images taken on May 16, reviewed by Bloomberg News and confirmed by analysis from United Against Nuclear Iran, a US non-profit policy advisory group focused on Tehran. The current collection of tankers compares to four on April 13, just before US warships began gathering in the Gulf of Oman to check and stop vessels.