By Weilun Soon and Rong Wei Neo
Jul 17, 2026 (Bloomberg) – Two tankers from the US sanctions list, carrying cooking fuel, are making unexpected turns and zig-zagging across the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea. This behavior is part of a group of ships loaded with Iranian energy exports that are under an intense US blockade.
These unusual movements occur as the US implements new measures against Iranian shipping that began on Tuesday. Since then, US forces have redirected three merchant ships, boarded one for verification, and disabled a tanker that didn't follow instructions, according to a US Central Command social media post from late Thursday.
The disabled tanker was hit by US missiles in the Persian Gulf near Iran’s Kharg Island oil export terminal, while the boarded ship was located in the Gulf of Oman. These locations suggest that the blockade is now covering a larger area than before.
The liquefied petroleum gas carrier Glendale was moving steadily in the Gulf of Oman towards the Arabian Sea late Thursday when it suddenly made a U-turn. By Friday, it had stopped off the coast of Oman, according to ship-tracking data. Another tanker, Danuta I, initially signaled Sri Lanka as its destination but began cruising in an unusual zig-zag pattern shortly after entering the Arabian Sea. It is now traveling slowly and isn't heading toward Sri Lanka.
A third tanker, the very large gas carrier Celeste, was reported heading into the Arabian Sea, indicating that China was its destination.
In the last week, around 91 tankers linked to Iran, including some empty ones, have been seen in satellite images across the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, according to the nonprofit group United Against Nuclear Iran. The energy and shipping industries are closely monitoring these vessels to gauge the effectiveness of the US naval blockade.
Meanwhile, other Iran-linked ships that had previously left the Persian Gulf also changed their planned routes abruptly.
This week, two ships that had aimed for Karachi turned back towards the Gulf of Oman as the blockade took effect. A third tanker was heading west past Sri Lanka before turning back on Thursday and is currently anchored off the island's coast.
On early Friday, shipping activity through the Strait of Hormuz was relatively low. Only four vessels linked to Iran crossed in either direction with their transponders active the day before. One small tanker that had transited eastward to exit the Persian Gulf turned around and returned back.
The owner of Glendale is recorded as Ecoseas Maritime Ltd., which shares an address in India with its manager, Bluveera Shipping OPC Pvt Ltd., according to the Equasis database. Attempts to contact Ecoseas by phone in Bulgaria were unsuccessful, and Bluveera has no listed email or contact number. Similarly, no contact information is available for Danuta I’s owner and manager, Ithaki Maritime and Trading SA from Panama. The owner of Celeste, Aerilyn Shipping Inc., also based in Panama, has not provided any email or phone number.