Three empty cargo tankers linked to the National Iranian Tanker Company have reportedly crossed the US Navy's blockade line over the past two days after rerouting toward Iran through Pakistan's Exclusive Economic Zone, maritime intelligence firm TankerTrackers said Friday.
TankerTrackers said the three vessels have a combined crude-carrying capacity of nearly 5 million barrels. While two of the tankers were verified through satellite imagery, the third - Hasna - resurfaced on the Automatic Identification System (AIS) late Thursday off the coast of Shinas in Oman, about 470 kilometres west of the blockade line.
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The firm said visual confirmation of the Hasna was still awaited, though the identities of the other two tankers have already been shared with its clients.
The development comes days after US Central Command (CENTCOM) claimed American forces had disabled the rudder of the Iranian-flagged M/T Hasna in the Gulf of Oman after the crew allegedly ignored repeated warnings.
CENTCOM said the tanker, which was unladen at the time, had been travelling in international waters toward an Iranian port when it was intercepted.
"Hasna is no longer transiting to Iran," CENTCOM had said, reiterating that the US maritime blockade on ships entering or leaving Iranian ports remains active.
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) May 6, 2026
Ship-tracking databases identify the Hasna as a 333-metre Iranian crude oil tanker built in 2003 and currently under US sanctions.
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The reported tanker movements highlight continued efforts by Iranian-linked vessels to bypass the US blockade amid heightened monitoring around the Gulf of Oman, Pakistan's EEZ and the Strait of Hormuz.
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