Washington has reimposed its naval blockade of Iranian ports after the collapse of a planned peace deal to end the US-Israeli war on Iran.
For decades, the US has tried to isolate Iran, holder of the world’s third largest proven oil reserves, from the global shipping industry with a range of sanctions.
However, the Islamic Republic has been able to maintain some revenue through a network of rickety tankers often described as its “shadow fleet”, which occupy a legal grey zone and use subterfuge to skirt the US measures.
How do shadow fleets work?
Shadow tankers, also known as “dark fleets” or “ghost fleets”, are ships that operate on the fringes of the global shipping industry to transport oil and other commodities from countries facing western sanctions.
Many are ageing vessels that evade detection on marine traffic databases by turning off their mandatory tracking signals or broadcasting false locations.
Iran is not the only country involved in such operations: Russia, which is also subject to oil sanctions, likewise operates a shadow fleet. Venezuela did so until the US attack on the country earlier this year and the seizure of many of its tankers.
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