By Weilun Soon, Julian Lee, Grant Smith and Prejula Prem June 19, 2026 (Bloomberg) – The flow of Iranian crude oil seems to have increased after the recent lifting of a lengthy US naval blockade on the country’s ports,...
By Weilun Soon, Julian Lee, Grant Smith and Prejula Prem
June 19, 2026 (Bloomberg) – The flow of Iranian crude oil seems to have increased after the recent lifting of a lengthy US naval blockade on the country’s ports, even though ship traffic from neighboring countries has declined.
On Friday, shipping data from Bloomberg showed that seven supertankers, which can carry about 14 million barrels of crude, were spotted leaving the Iranian port of Chabahar on the Gulf of Oman. This is a notable rise compared to the four tankers that were seen over the previous two days.
This week, the agreement between Washington and Tehran to end mutual blockades is expected to ease one of the largest oil supply disruptions ever. This could lead to further drops in oil prices, which have already fallen about 37% from the peak reached in April.
Two Iranian officials mentioned earlier this week that they expect a quick recovery in oil flows since Iran’s production was only temporarily reduced during the conflict. Ships linked to Iran had been seen moving in anticipation of this agreement.
On Friday morning, no tankers from other countries were observed leaving the Persian Gulf, whereas nearly 10 million barrels of oil were logged either outside the region or passing through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday. The fully loaded supertanker Tenzan returned to the Gulf of Oman after passing through Hormuz overnight.
In the last 24 hours, at least four supertankers have entered the Gulf, indicating potential support for Iranian oil exports.
The US and Iran have postponed their talks on a permanent peace agreement, which were scheduled to take place in Switzerland on Friday. It’s uncertain if this delay, which followed recent clashes between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, will affect transit through Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman.