In the 12 months main as much as its dramatic seizure by US forces in the Indian Ocean, the oil tanker often known as the MT Tifani made a number of journeys between Iran and a stretch of water off the coast of Malaysia, round 60 miles from the glitzy skyscrapers of Singapore.
During these journeys, it typically loitered in a small space earlier than dropping anchor and switching off its necessary automated identification system (AIS), in line with MarineTraffic knowledge reviewed by NCS.
Some time later — typically hours, typically days — the ship would reappear on AIS.
The seizure of the MT Tifani on Tuesday — and the 1.9 million barrels of Iranian oil US authorities say it was carrying — has pushed the struggle with Iran into the waters of the Indo-Pacific, hundreds of miles from the Persian Gulf.
It’s additionally put a highlight on this patch of water off Malaysia, roughly half the measurement of Rhode Island, which professional and NCS evaluation exhibits acts as a floating gas station for Iran, utilized by its shadow fleet to commerce and retailer oil, funneling desperately wanted money to the regime as the struggle grinds on.
While not formally outlined, the space is usually often known as the Eastern Outer Port Limits (EOPL) anchorage. It lies close to the jap entrance to the Singapore Strait, considered one of the world’s busiest transport pathways, about 43 miles off the coast of peninsular Malaysia, in the nation’s unique financial zone (EEZ). It’s most seen on satellite tv for pc imagery where, at occasions, a whole lot of vessels may be seen loitering in the space.
The MT Tifani may also be recognized by its IMO quantity: 9273337. Assigned by the International Maritime Organization, the quantity can’t be modified no matter possession or flag.
On one event final August, it was seen inside this zone offloading unspecified cargo to a different vessel known as the Macho Queen (IMO: 9238868), in line with satellite tv for pc pictures reviewed by NCS. After the switch, the Macho Queen briefly turned on its AIS and commenced crusing northeast towards China, earlier than turning its tracker off once more after the US sanctioned it for smuggling Iranian oil to China.
A second oil tanker boarded and seized by the US Thursday, the MT Majestic X, had additionally traveled between the Middle East and the Singapore Strait towards the EOPL a number of occasions, in line with MarineTraffic knowledge.
The EOPL is a hotspot for the shadow fleet due to its handy location and the permissive attitudes of close by authorities, mentioned Farzin Nadimi, a senior fellow with the Washington Institute suppose tank, specializing in Iran.
“It’s a very convenient place for hiding activities,” Nadimi mentioned. “Malaysian authorities basically look elsewhere.”
At least 679 ship-to-ship transfers happened in the EOPL in 2025, up from 471 in 2024 and 280 in 2023, in line with satellite tv for pc knowledge compiled by nonprofit United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI). These numbers underestimate the true image as a result of the satellite tv for pc doesn’t cross daily and may’t detect ships in unhealthy climate.
NCS has reached out to the Malaysian authorities for remark.
Last July, Malaysia pledged to ramp up enforcement towards unlawful ship-to-ship transfers in its waters, with Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan admitting the problem is “a thorn in our side,” state media Bernama reported.
Under new rules, any vessel caught conducting an unauthorized switch could be detained, Mohamad mentioned, in line with Bernama.
“We no longer want to be accused of being a country that facilitates such activities.”
Iran is considered one of the world’s prime oil producers, exporting a median of 1.69 million barrels per day in 2025, in line with commerce knowledge and analytics firm Kpler. Roughly 90% of its oil goes to China, in line with the US authorities. China has not sanctioned Iranian crude and says it opposes sanctions on Iran’s oil.
Because of the widespread sanctions, Iran depends on a fleet of getting older tankers with opaque information and spotty insurance coverage to maneuver its crude round the world.
Most of its shadow fleet consists of Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), in line with power knowledge agency Vortexa — large tankers like the MT Tifani which may maintain as much as 2 million barrels of oil.
Much of its sanctioned oil sells at a reduction of about $10 lower than the international benchmark Brent crude, which has surged above $100 per barrel since the struggle started, that means every ship-to-ship switch nets tens of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} in income for Iran’s regime.
The exercise in the EOPL has continued since the US and Israel launched their struggle on Iran at the finish of February, limiting the circulation of oil from the Middle East. UANI tracked at the very least 250 ship-to-ship transfers in the EOPL anchorage between January and April 21 of this 12 months.
Iran’s use of this space has allowed it to maintain a steady flow of exports all through the struggle, bankrolling the regime at the same time as the world contends with a extreme oil scarcity.
“It’s essential to Iran’s business model,” mentioned Charlie Brown, senior adviser to UANI, specializing in Iran’s shadow fleet.
Ship-to-ship transfers are a routine a part of official long-haul transport, used to spice up effectivity and keep away from ports.
Large oil tankers incessantly offload their cargo to smaller ships as a result of their draft is simply too deep to enter most ports. But as a result of these maneuvers carry security and environmental dangers, they’re extremely regulated and should be achieved in accepted areas, requiring thorough documentation and notification of coastal authorities.
Shadow fleets use ship-to-ship transfers, even when logistically pointless, to obscure the origin of the oil they’re carrying. They incessantly conduct them underneath the cowl of night time, shutting off or spoofing their AIS, making them troublesome for authorities to detect.
Broadly talking, Iran’s shadow oil commerce follows an analogous sample, involving two units of ships that assist ship Iranian crude to China.
Ships from the first set choose up the oil, primarily from Iran’s major export facility Kharg Island, and sail throughout the Indian Ocean by means of the Malacca and Singapore straits, earlier than anchoring off Malaysia.
Ships from the second set then obtain the oil by ship-to-ship switch and take it to China, primarily to “teapot” refineries in Shandong province, that are recognized for getting sanctioned crude.
China doesn’t formally declare Iranian crude imports and sometimes obscures the origin of the oil as Malaysian, mentioned Ying Cong Lah, a crude-oil market analyst at Kpler.
NCS has reached out to China’s international ministry for remark. Earlier this month, a ministry spokesperson mentioned Beijing “opposes unilateral sanctions that have no basis in international law” when requested a couple of US evaluation that China wouldn’t cease shopping for Iranian oil.
Most of the ships ferrying oil from Iran to Asia are blacklisted by the US, whereas the majority of vessels choosing up the oil and taking it to China aren’t but sanctioned, mentioned Brown, the UANI senior advisor.
Shadow fleets additionally forge paperwork and fly false flags or “flags of convenience,” incessantly altering their registration and misrepresenting their cargo to idiot authorities.
“They create a new narrative for the new cargo and the new ship,” mentioned Nadimi of the Washington Institute, including that crew typically go so far as to paint a new name or flag on the ship. “This is a cargo laundering business.”
Nefarious exercise in the EOPL has lengthy been an open secret in the transport business. Brown estimates about 95% of vessels transferring cargo in the space are smuggling Iranian or Russian oil to China.
The EOPL has additionally served as a form of oil storage web site for Iran, serving to to cushion towards any disruption to transport visitors in the Persian Gulf, Nadimi mentioned.
“There is a risk of hostilities breaking out in the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf area, so they (Iran) prefer to move as much cargo, crude oil, as close to their customers as possible.”
Iran had a file 191 million barrels saved at sea in February, the overwhelming majority in East Asia, in line with Kpler.
This floating strategic reserve has allowed Tehran to take care of excessive exports, transport a median of 1.1 million barrels per day to China at the same time as the US and Israel pounded the nation with strikes all through March, in line with UANI. While a dip from its typical export numbers, the surge in oil costs has helped to offset the monetary hit to the regime.
The MT Tifani might have been on its option to offload cargo in the EOPL when it was boarded by US forces.
In the month main as much as its seizure, the vessel lingered round the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf, in line with MarineTraffic knowledge. Although the tanker had its AIS shut off, NCS was in a position to find the tanker docked at Iran’s Kharg Island in satellite tv for pc imagery taken on April 6.
The tanker reappeared on AIS on April 10, when it was noticed in the Gulf of Oman touring southeast. MarineTraffic knowledge confirmed it was heading towards Singapore.
On April 21, after passing Sri Lanka, the tanker made an abrupt course change — first a pointy 90-degree flip southward, then one other sharp 90-degree flip again east. Shortly after the ship made these course modifications, the US introduced its seizure.
In a video posted by the Department of Defense, US forces may be seen onboard the MT Tifani as helicopters circle above.
The MT Tifani has been loitering in the space since.