Vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg show a third tanker carrying a full cargo of Iranian crude has departed Chabahar and traversed the line designated by US charts as the blockade limit for Iranian ports.
The ship, identified as the Suezmax Sonia I, has a capacity of roughly 1 million barrels. It sailed from the port near Iran's border with Pakistan on Tuesday. Based on the vessel's draft, the Sonia I is fully loaded and is heading toward Singapore, a frequent waypoint for tankers en route to Asian buyers.
Earlier this week two very large crude carriers - named Hero II and Diona - also left with substantial cargoes. Each of those VLCCs carries about 2 million barrels of oil. Both are on courses that take them toward the southern tip of India, the conventional passage to the Strait of Malacca and the Singapore region. Neither Hero II nor Diona is currently displaying a destination.
All three vessels crossed a maritime line drawn between Iran's Pakistan border and the Omani coastline east of the town of Sur. That line appears on US maps as the blockade line for Iranian ports. Previously, ships linked to Iran approaching that boundary were reportedly turned back, boarded, or disabled by US naval forces.
On Tuesday Iranian state media reported that the American blockade of Iranian ports - which began in mid-April - is being lifted. The departures occur in the days before a planned ceasefire signing that sources say will permit Tehran to sell oil immediately.
The sequence of movements - a Suezmax laden for Singapore and two VLCCs heading along the standard southern India corridor - marks a notable set of transits through a zone that had been the focus of interception activity. The ships' courses and load indications were visible in the tracking data used to confirm the departures.
Context note - The reporting here relies on vessel-tracking information and statements reported by Iranian media about the status of the blockade. Details on the intended final destinations for two of the tankers remain undisclosed by those vessels.