Iranian Ghost Fleet Tankers Dodge US Blockade, UANI Says

Smaller Iranian tankers belonging to what the advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) calls a "ghost fleet" have been filmed slipping past a U.S. naval blockade while carrying sanctioned liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) toward China, according to a report from Fox News citing UANI's monitoring work.

The claim centers on vessels smaller than the large crude tankers typically associated with Iran's sanctioned oil trade, which UANI says are using a transit point in Malaysia to obscure the origin of their cargo before the fuel continues on to Chinese buyers, Fox News reported.

What does UANI say happened?

UANI, a nonprofit that tracks vessels it believes are moving Iranian oil and gas in violation of U.S. sanctions, says it has footage showing the smaller tankers moving through waters patrolled by the U.S. Navy without being intercepted, Fox News reported. The group's core assertion is that the fleet is adapting its vessel size and routing specifically to avoid detection by American naval assets positioned to enforce sanctions on Iranian energy exports.

The available reporting does not include a verbatim statement from UANI quantifying how many vessels have made the run, how much LPG they carried, or over what time period the footage was captured. Those specifics were not part of the material reviewed for this story.

How does the ghost fleet evade the blockade?

The tactic described involves scale: using smaller tankers rather than the large crude carriers that have drawn the bulk of U.S. sanctions enforcement attention. Smaller vessels can be harder to flag through satellite tracking and naval patrols and may also be better suited to navigating shallow or congested waters near transshipment points, according to the Fox News account of UANI's findings.

The report frames the voyages as a workaround to a U.S. naval blockade in the region, though the underlying reporting does not detail the specific legal authority or geographic scope of that blockade. Readers should treat "blockade" as the term used by UANI and Fox News rather than a defined U.S. Navy operation with published rules of engagement.

Why route LPG tankers through Malaysia to China?

Fox News reported that the tankers pass through what UANI describes as a Malaysia anchorage before the cargo moves on to China. Ship-to-ship transfers and offshore anchorages near Malaysia have long served as waypoints in the broader sanctioned-oil trade because they allow cargo documentation to be altered or obscured before a final buyer takes delivery — a pattern UANI's report applies here to LPG rather than crude.

The report does not specify which Chinese ports or buyers ultimately receive the fuel, nor does it name the anchorage beyond describing it as a transit point tied to the Iranian trade.

What is LPG and why does it matter for sanctions?

LPG, or liquefied petroleum gas, is a fuel derived from oil and natural gas processing, used for heating, cooking and as an industrial feedstock. It has drawn less public attention than crude oil in the sanctions fight, but UANI's report signals that enforcement focus may be widening beyond crude cargoes to other refined and byproduct fuels moving out of Iran, according to Fox News.

"Ghost fleet" is the term UANI and other sanctions monitors use for tankers that obscure ownership, flag registration or cargo origin to move sanctioned oil and gas products without detection.

What do U.S. and Iranian officials say?

The Fox News report reviewed for this story does not include comment from the U.S. Navy, the State Department, Iranian officials or Chinese customs authorities responding to UANI's findings. Any response from those parties was not part of the available source material.

What should readers watch for next?

• Whether UANI releases additional vessel names, Automatic Identification System (AIS) tracking data, or cargo volumes to support the footage it says it has captured.
• Whether the U.S. Treasury or State Department issues new sanctions designations tied specifically to LPG shipments, as distinct from the crude-oil sanctions that have dominated enforcement.
• Whether Malaysian authorities respond to characterizations of an anchorage in their waters being used as a transshipment point.
• Whether Chinese import data for LPG from intermediary trading hubs shows any shift that independent shipping trackers can corroborate.

This story will be updated if UANI, the U.S. Navy or Chinese officials provide additional detail beyond what Fox News has reported. (Fox News)