How a New “Arab Dark Fleet” Keeps Hormuz Oil Flowing

At a Glance

• Gulf oil producers have gained control of a fleet of nearly 230 tankers shipping oil through the Strait of Hormuz.
• Tankers load dark and transit Hormuz via Oman’s southern corridor with U.S. military support.
• 80% of the fleet are very large crude carriers that run shuttle trips to ship-to-ship transfer hubs off the UAE and Oman.
• A South Korean shipowner is the fleet’s largest operator, followed by three Gulf national shipping companies.
• The fleet has tied up some 15%-20% of the global VLCC fleet at any one time
• Crude exports (minus Iran) loaded West of Hormuz are running at about 11 million bpd in October, up from 1.56 million bpd in May, according to Vortexa data.
• Some 15% of the fleet has changed registered ownership in the past three months, according to Windward data.

Gulf Producers Take Control of a Tanker Fleet That Defies Iran

Gulf oil producers have gained control of a fleet of nearly 230 tankers that have defied Iran to ship oil through the Strait of Hormuz and keep the chokepoint open to global trade.

The giant fleet is owned, managed, chartered or controlled by Gulf national oil companies or their trading and shipping arms and is designed to cut reliance on chartering tankers on the spot market.

Despite very high freight rates, fewer shipowners will send tankers to load at oil terminals in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman or the UAE. The result is a new fleet, the Arab Dark Fleet, solely deployed by Gulf states and dedicated to keeping their oil flowing.

The “Arab Dark Fleet” is the biggest shift in how Gulf national oil companies run their freight, logistics, and supply chains since the Tanker War of the 1980s.

Dark VLCC Shuttles Carry Oil to Ship-to-Ship Hubs Off the UAE and Oman

The fleet almost exclusively sails dark in the Middle East Gulf, with AIS switched off for legitimate safety and security reasons. Tankers load dark, and then transit the Strait of Hormuz via Oman’s southern corridor with U.S. military support. Many have not signaled their AIS position in weeks.

The majority of the fleet is very large crude carriers. This is the predominant class used to run shuttle trips from oil terminals west of Hormuz to ship-to-ship transfer hubs off the UAE and Oman. Ships sail with AIS switched off, often at night with oil, then transferred to other tankers for onward shipment to global markets.

National Carriers and Global Traders Swell the Fleet

The fleet includes tankers already owned by national shipping companies. These are supplemented by newly purchased tankers, chartered-in tonnage and spot charters, many of them from private Greek shipowners.

Global traders are also shuttling oil that has been loaded at West-of-Hormuz terminals and then sold at a premium from ship-to-ship hubs or shipped directly to buyers. Their ships are included in the dark fleet tally.

A South Korean Shipowner Becomes the Arab Dark Fleet’s Largest Operator

The most important addition to the Arab Dark Fleet is a South Korean shipowner, half-owned by a large container line.

The South Korean shipowner began buying and chartering VLCCs in December 2025 and has built a fleet of more than 100 ships, about 70% of which now work in the Arab Dark Fleet.

Their tankers account for nearly 30% of the Arab Dark Fleet and make them the largest operator, followed by the national carriers. It is also the most targeted by Iran: Iran’s Persian Gulf Transit Authority has threatened legal action against their fleet for using the ‘unauthorized’ southern corridor.

Gulf Producers Run the Tanker War Shuttle in Reverse

For decades, shipping has run on the mantra that “cargo is king”. But Gulf producers have realized they must own or control tankers in order to move oil through the high-risk southern corridor in Omani waters, even if securing the supply chain equates to much higher freight costs.

The same scenario was seen, in reverse, during the 1984–88 Tanker War. Owners refused to load at Iran’s Kharg Island even at high rates. Iran set up a VLCC shuttle from Kharg Island to the mouth of the Gulf, where cargoes were transferred to other tankers.

Today the roles are reversed, with Arab producers running the shuttle under attack from Iran.

Shuttling Oil Out of Hormuz Ties Up Global VLCC Capacity

The rise of the Arab Dark Fleet has added to freight logistics inefficiencies and tied up some 15%-20% of the global VLCC fleet at any one time.

Gulf oil companies are selling oil from ship-to-ship hubs at a discount to their official monthly selling price after shuttling it out of Hormuz. Shipbroker Braemar said on October 23 the freight cost of loading from Oman to Asia was around $15/bbl.

What the Numbers Show About the Arab Dark Fleet

• 80% are very large crude carriers, the dominant class in the fleet. 10% are aframaxes or LR2 tankers, the second-largest segment.
• The average age is 12 years.
• 28% are beneficially owned by the South Korean shipowner.
• Gulf national oil companies beneficially own 36% of the fleet. 
• 40% are flagged in Liberia and 11% in the Marshall Islands, the two quality open registers run by U.S.-incorporated companies.

Most of the Fleet Went Dark in the Past Three Months

• 70% have had a dark period in the past three months, averaging 12 days. 10% had extended dark periods of more than four weeks.
• Dark activity was concentrated in the Middle East Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.

The Fleet’s Expansion Lifts Hormuz Transits

The expansion of the Arab Dark Fleet in recent months has been key to increased transits. Preliminary figures for crude exports (minus Iran) loaded at terminals West of Hormuz are running at a pace of about 11 million bpd over October, according to Vortexa data.

That compares with 1.56 million bpd in May when Gulf states began using the southern corridor, and pre-war volumes of 14.5 million bpd.

Gulf Shipowners Keep Buying Second-Hand Tankers

Gulf shipowners continue buying second-hand tonnage for immediate use in the Arab Dark Fleet, focusing on VLCCs and Suezmaxes. In the past three months, one Gulf national shipping company spent nearly $2bn on vessels. Windward data show that some 15% of the Arab Dark Fleet has changed registered ownership in the past three months.

Written by Michelle Wiese Bockmann, Windward Senior Maritime Intelligence Analyst.