A ‘Huge’ Iranian Supertanker Just Gave the US Navy the Slip

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The appropriately-named Iranian oil tanker is known to have passed through the Strait of Hormuz, but there is no word of its current whereabouts.

“Huge” (or “yuge”) is one of President Donald Trump’s favorite superlatives, used in speeches to create an emotional, even hyperbolic response. Although there is no formal designation of “huge” in international shipping lingo, Iran has a fleet of tanker vessels that could be described as such.

The National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), a subsidiary of the government-owned National Iranian Oil Company, operates some three dozen “Very Large Crude Carriers” (VLCCs), which have a total floating storage capacity of 65 to 75 million barrels. Most of these operate as part of a “ghost” fleet to evade US sanctions, sailing from port to port without declaring their cargo and leaving their ship transponders off.

Indeed, one of the Iranian vessels reportedly bypassed the US Navy blockade of the Strait of Hormuz last week, carrying more than 1.9 million barrels of crude oil valued at........

© The National Interest