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Two Iranian Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), HUGE and DERYA, have been dramatically evading the US naval blockade and are making their way towards Southeast Asia after passing near Indian waters.

Maritime tracking firm TankerTrackers.com reported that the tankers got around US surveillance. One of the ships had previously tried to ship an almost 1.9 million barrels of crude (value of approximately 220 million dollars) to India. The two ships turned off AIS signals and took alternative routes, such as the Lombok Strait in Indonesia, in order to reach their destinations.

This has been developed in a context where the tension has been on the increase and the US has led a blockade aimed at restricting oil exports made by Iran. According to the media in Iran, dozens of vessels have violated the restrictions in recent times.

The incident points to the problem of the effectiveness of the enforcement of the blockade and raises concerns about the effectiveness of the naval operations in the region of the Indian Ocean. Shipping analysts are keenly observing its impact on oil supply chains of the world and energy relationships between India and Iran.