TEMPO.CO, London – According to Reuters, Iran is currently using Indonesian ports to sell its oil in an effort to outsmart the oil embargo imposed by the United States and European Union as a sanction for the country's nuclear program.
Based on Automatic Identification System (AIS) tracking, two Iranian very large crude carriers (VLCCs), capable of holding 2 million barrels, are heading for Batam Island in April, before moving on to China.
Analysts at FACTS Global Energy (FGE), an energy consultant companby, stated that Iran has been using this strategy for the past few months.
"The strategy is taking crudes to islands in Asia via VLCCs and selling it from there. It's a crucial stream of revenue for the country, so it's very important they sell as much as they can," an analyst said.
This is not the first time for Iran to ships oil via other islands in Asia. Last September, Reuters reported that Iran was stocking up oil at Labuan, Malaysia, before shipping it to other destinations.
A source familiar with Iranian tanker fleet and its movements said that "they [Iran] have used Labuan in Malaysia in the past, so there is nothing really to stop them using Batam as a base as there are no sanctions-related drawbacks."
REUTERS| AMRI MAHBUB
