Middle Eastern oil firms use US-escorted dark transits to bypass Iranian threats in Strait of Hormuz
Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other Gulf producers are routing oil through US-protected, transponder-off voyages and ship-to-ship transfers to keep exports flowing despite Iranian drone attacks.
A Greek-owned supertanker that docked in Qatar on July 25 turned off its AIS transponder while crossing the Strait of Hormuz on July 31, reappearing the next day on the opposite side of the waterway. The maneuver is part of a growing practice of “dark” nighttime transits, escorted by the U.S. Navy, used by Saudi, Kuwaiti, Qatari and Emirati oil companies to avoid Iranian drone attacks.
The strategy involves turning off tracking devices, sailing through the strait, and then transferring crude to waiting tankers in the Gulf of Oman. Those transfers allow oil to be moved to customers in Asia while shifting the insurance and security risk from commercial shippers to the governments and producers involved.
The U.S. Department of Energy reports that daily oil flow through the strait now averages 8-9 million barrels, roughly twice the volume estimated by some market analysts. Tracking firm Kpler says about 80 % of traffic in the past two weeks has been conducted without active transponders, routing vessels around the Omani coast to stay as far from Iran as possible.
Saudi Arabia has redirected roughly 5 million barrels per day from its Red Sea port of Yanbu, and an additional 2 million barrels per day have been rerouted around the strait. Other producers, including Brazil, Guyana and Venezuela, have added more than 1 million barrels per day, while the United States has increased output and released 400 million barrels from its strategic reserve.
Satellite imagery shows clusters of vessels near Oman that are not reflected in transponder data, confirming the covert nature of the operations. Analysts warn the approach is costly and cannot be sustained indefinitely, as oil inventories have fallen by up to 1.9 billion barrels since the conflict began.
Despite the challenges, the “dark” transits have helped keep global oil supplies flowing and have limited price spikes, although fuel costs remain elevated amid ongoing geopolitical tensions.