By Weilun Soon April 29, 2026 (Bloomberg) – A 29-year-old Iranian supertanker has reappeared at Kharg Island after being off the radar for years. This could indicate that Tehran is using retired ships to continue oil l...
By Weilun Soon
April 29, 2026 (Bloomberg) – A 29-year-old Iranian supertanker has reappeared at Kharg Island after being off the radar for years. This could indicate that Tehran is using retired ships to continue oil loading as its storage capacity dwindles.
The Nasha, a very large crude carrier built in 1997 and flying the Iranian flag, was seen docked at Kharg Island, Iran’s largest oil export terminal, according to satellite images reviewed by the advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran and Bloomberg News.
Analysts from Vortexa and UANI noted that the vessel looks to have resumed operations after not delivering a cargo for the last two to three years. However, it's not completely clear what the Nasha did during that time, whether it was sailing, idle, or located inside or outside the Persian Gulf, as it had stopped transmitting its location.
The U.S. blockade has left many tankers carrying Iranian oil stuck in the Persian Gulf or the Gulf of Oman. Other ships are unable to pass through the Strait of Hormuz to collect oil. Consequently, Iran is rapidly running out of oil storage space, with estimates suggesting it may have only three weeks of capacity left at the current loading rate, according to research firm Kpler.
Iran has shown a remarkable ability to withstand economic difficulties, but the presence of U.S. warships in the Gulf of Oman will compel the country to seek more inventive solutions.
Bringing the Nasha and similar vessels back into service could give Tehran some breathing room to continue production and manage its storage. The country has previously shown skill in exploiting both onshore and offshore capacity before tanks reached full capacity. Just before Israel began airstrikes in June of the previous year, Iran managed to increase its loadings to as much as 2.33 million barrels per day.
Bloomberg News could not immediately determine how many empty Iran-linked tankers are currently in the Persian Gulf or nearby. Analysts suggest that without alternatives like the Nasha, Tehran might soon have to halt its oil production.
“Reactivating ships like this can be beneficial for Iran in the short term, but the underlying issue of the U.S. blockade still remains as they struggle to bring in ballast vessels,” noted Xavier Tang, a senior market analyst at the ship-tracking platform Vortexa Ltd. “The bigger question is perhaps when they will need to reduce crude production.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. has intensified its enforcement of the blockade established earlier this month, with President Trump repeatedly suggesting that Iran is on the brink of collapse.
“They don’t know how to sign a non-nuclear deal. They better figure it out soon!” Trump said in a Wednesday post on Truth Social. “NO MORE MR. NICE GUY!”
Recently, several supertankers loaded with Iranian oil have been blocked by the U.S. Navy, forcing them to cluster off an Iranian port in the Gulf of Oman. This group now has 20 ships, compared to an average of five before the blockade, according to U.S. Central Command.
Last week’s satellite images showed 13 tankers, mostly VLCCs, anchored to the east of Kharg Island, which is about twice the number seen the day before the blockade began on April 13. Inbound traffic into the gulf via the Strait of Hormuz remains nearly at zero.
(Additional context provided in paragraphs five and six, along with Trump’s tweet in paragraphs nine and ten.)