April 2, 2026: Iran War Maritime Intelligence Daily

At a Glance

• Transits on April 1 climbed for a third consecutive day to 16, from 11 on March 31. More countries are negotiating with Iran to get ships through, suggesting the pace of transits could rise in coming days.
• Three Omani-controlled ships – two tankers and one liquefied natural gas carrier – exited the Strait of Hormuz on April 2 using the normal navigation channel over the re-routed, IRGC-controlled corridor in place since March 14.
• Western sanctioned ships comprised 62% of transits on April 1 as Iran’s inbound shadow tanker fleet prepared for further loadings. 

Operational Overview 

Three of the four bulk carriers that exited on April 1 were Greece-owned and one China-owned. This signals that EU as well as Asia shipowners are negotiating at both diplomatic and commercial levels to use the permission-based system.

Strait of Hormuz Transits Rise

Sanctioned, Iran-linked tankers dominated inbound transits on April 1. There were nine inbound transits (7 tankers and 2 cargo vessels) tracked via AIS. 

Vessels involved in the transport of containerized goods and dry bulk commodities from Iran dominated outbound transits (4 cargo and 2 tankers), according to AIS signals

62% of transits were on sanctioned vessels with falsely flagged tankers flown by 6 ships. Fraudulent registries used included Madagascar, Botswana and Aruba. Three falsely broadcast they were using Comoros.

All 16 ships used the route via Larak Island, a permission-based, selective blockade imposed by Iran around March 14. The route circumvents the normal channel with vessels hugging Iran’s coastline within territorial waters to go through.

OMAN SHIPS EXIT STRAIT & AVOID IRGC CORRIDOR

Three Omani-controlled ships – two tankers and one liquefied natural gas carrier – transited the Strait of Hormuz, avoiding the re-routed, IRGC-controlled corridor used for nearly three weeks.

The transits, the first for an LNG carrier since the war began, was observed as representatives from 35 countries held a virtual meeting to discuss how to reopen the crucial energy commodities artery to global maritime traffic.

Iran said it was drafting a protocol with Oman for Hormuz Strait traffic, as the UAE asked the United Nations to authorise measures including the use of force.

The three ships, two Marshall Islands-flagged very large crude carriers and the Panama-flagged LNG carrier all switched off their AIS shortly after beginning the transit over the morning of April 2.

The two VLCCs were signalling via AIS that they were laden, while the LNG carrier appeared to be in ballast.

IRAQ OIL EXPORTS PLUNGE OVER MARCH

While Saudi Arabia and the UAE are ramping up exports of crude via alternative pipelines to offset the Hormuz closure, Iraqi oil shipped via the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan averaged 135,000 bpd over March, down from 236,000 bpd the prior month, Vortexa data show.

Iraq is said to be accelerating use of the northern pipeline, but this is yet to show in weekly exports data. Exports plunged 3m bpd in March, to 645,000 bpd.

Saudi Arabia ramped up crude exports from the Red Sea port of Yanbu via pipeline to 3.3m bpd in March, the highest monthly pace in records going back to 2017. Crude exports were at 800,000 bpd in February.