Oil exporters from the UAE, Iraq, Qatar and Kuwait are moving more than 4m barrels per day through the Strait of Hormuz on shuttle tankers sailing with transponders switched off before transferring cargoes to waiting vessels in the Gulf of Oman, according to Bloomberg.
Around 150 ships, from large oil tankers to bulk carriers, were positioned off Oman, compared with roughly 40 in January.
Many were waiting to receive cargoes from vessels crossing Hormuz without visible tracking signals.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright put flows through Hormuz at almost 9m bpd over the previous seven days, compared with about 20m bpd before the current disruption, when the strait handled roughly one-fifth of global oil supply.
The continuing flows, pipeline alternatives, stockpile releases and weaker demand have helped keep Brent futures mostly between $80 and $90 per barrel in August.
Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) has continued exports despite attacks on its shipping. The company said 23 of its vessels had been attacked while transiting Hormuz, killing one crew member and injuring 20.
“We are determined to continue meeting our responsibility to safely deliver energy to global markets,” ADNOC said.
ADNOC has sold about 135m barrels of crude to buyers worldwide and launched another sales round. Its maritime logistics arm, ADNOC Logistics & Services, posted second-quarter revenue of $2.584bn, EBITDA of $1.106bn and net profit of $951m. The company linked much of the outperformance to additional services used to deliver energy from the UAE to international markets and plans to deploy another five VLGCs and six VLCCs in the second half of 2026.