Iran has blacklisted 45 oil and gas tankers from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for violating the rules of passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Not only that, Tehran has also warned of action against any other vessel involved in transferring goods from one ship to another at sea along with these ships.

In a post on X on Sunday night (August 23), Iran's newly formed 'Persian Gulf Strait Authority' gave this information. Iran recently formed this organization to manage the Strait of Hormuz. The authority said that the listed ships could be fined, detained and even the goods they were carrying could be seized.

Tehran's warning came a few days after the United States threatened to impose the toughest sanctions in history on Iran. Earlier, Iran said that its response to any new threat would be devastating.

The blacklist includes very large crude oil tankers, LNG and LPG carriers and refined fuel tankers. Some of the listed ships are owned by the UAE's ADNOC Logistics and Shipping. There are also ships owned by ADNOC's subsidiary Navig8 Tankers and Saudi Arabia's national shipping company Bahri. Some ships owned by Norway's Klavenes Ship Management, Stolt Tankers and South Korea's Sinocor are also on the list.

The Iranian post said that any other vessels participating in ship-to-ship transfers with the blacklisted ships could also be added to the list. However, the authorities did not specify exactly what violations led to the ships being declared 'non-compliant'. Iran had previously said that ship owners would have to obtain approval from them to pass through the Strait of Hormuz and pay for security and other services.

Ships that want to remove their names from the list must apply to the Iranian maritime authorities with the necessary explanations and information. The authorities have also advised cargo owners to consult the list for voyages related to the Gulf region.

Meanwhile, the United States has also imposed a naval blockade against shipping related to Iran. Before the conflict, about 20 percent of the world's daily crude oil and LNG supplies passed through the Persian Gulf. As tanker traffic was disrupted due to the conflict, energy exports through this route have also been disrupted. An initiative has been taken by the United States to quietly transfer tankers through Hormuz and transfer products to waiting supertankers outside. This is restoring some of the disrupted exports.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told the Express on Friday that the seven-day average of oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz is now more than 8 million barrels per day. He wrote that oil is flowing through Hormuz because of the US Navy.

Amid the tit-for-tat between Iran and the United States over the Strait of Hormuz, Tehran's new warning against the 45 ships could put new pressure on international energy transport and maritime trade.

Source: Al Jazeera