Some oil companies to avoid ships on Iran blacklist, sources say

Indian oil refiners and a global energy major are considering halting the use of ships on Iran's newly unveiled blacklist, according to four sources familiar with the matter. The Iranian government announced on Sunday a blacklist of 45 vessels for breaching rules on the Strait of Hormuz, threatening repercussions for any ships transferring loads with those on the list.

This escalation of threats comes six months into the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran, with the aim of impeding Gulf oil producers' shuttle runs to move oil from the Gulf through Hormuz. The named vessels could face fines, detention, and cargo confiscation, as stated by a Persian Gulf Strait Authority post on social media. Most of the tankers on Iran's list are owned or chartered by Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., used for shuttling crude, refined products, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) via ship-to-ship transfers (STS) off Fujairah in the UAE or Sohar in Oman.

Trade risk analyst Ana Subasic predicts that the most compliant buyers will avoid these ships, but the trade may instead reroute through alternative tonnage, counterparts, or transfer locations. Several charterers and shipping firms are contemplating their STS operations' continuation, with one Gulf crude buyer expressing a preference for purchasing oil on a delivered basis, shipped to a final destination, rather than free-on-board at STS locations in the Gulf of Oman.