Iran’s National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) fleet has returned to its usual “dark operations” after an unusual three-day period of broadcasting AIS signals, which left many maritime analysts questioning the motives behind this brief transparency. During this time, 52 out of 88 Iran-flagged tankers transmitted AIS signals between October 12 and 14, a departure from their typical behavior of remaining undetectable for long durations, often over 30 days.
The reported positions of these tankers ranged from Iran’s Kharg Island to Indonesia, with several located near the Malaysian Exclusive Economic Zone, an area known for unregulated floating storage and ship-to-ship transfers of oil prohibited by U.S. sanctions. Nine of the largest NITC tankers were actively broadcasting their locations in this hotspot. However, this openness was short-lived; by October 17, virtually the entire fleet had ceased broadcasting, with only one tanker remaining visible on AIS.
The reasons behind this temporary visibility remain unclear, particularly given the recent reactivation of UN sanctions against Iran and a renewed crackdown on STS operations in Malaysia. It is noteworthy that this was the first instance in seven and a half years that Iranian-flagged tankers transmitted without masking their identities. The overarching motivations behind this abrupt shift could be linked to internal policy changes, though the specifics are still uncertain.
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