Empty Iran‑affiliated tankers have remained largely stationary in the Middle East Gulf while visible crude loadings have ceased, according to a report published on 5 November 2026 by reports.
The report states that no Iran‑affiliated tanker transmitting automatic identification system signals in the Middle East Gulf has shown a draft change consistent with loading since 17 September. That interval was described in the item as six weeks without a visible loading.
Between 27 July and 17 September, the Middle East Oil Company identified seven AIS‑transmitting tankers that showed loading activity and accounted for almost 6 million barrels of crude. The report calculated that to be a loading pace of roughly 113,000 barrels per day during that earlier period.
Recent pause in visible loadings
reports summarised the situation using AIS-derived draft changes as a proxy for shipboard loading events. The publication noted the abrupt halt in those observable draft changes after 17 September, leaving the previously active fleet of AIS‑transmitting vessels apparently idle.
The apparent pause is measured through changes in a vessel’s draft as reported via AIS; in the earlier window of late July to mid‑September those changes were recorded on only seven tankers, amounting to the near 6 million barrels cited in the report.
What the movements show
The report places emphasis on the absence of draft changes rather than the absolute number of vessels present, stressing that AIS‑transmitting tankers linked to Iran in the Middle East Gulf have not exhibited the loading signatures detected in the prior period. It describes those same vessels as sitting empty and idle in the region.
reports attributed the detection and calculations to monitoring of AIS transmissions and draft changes, and presented the July to September loading rate as the most recent interval with identifiable visible activity. No additional vessel names, ports or cargo destinations were supplied in the material provided for this article.
The picture conveyed in the report is of a sharp fall in observable loadings after 17 September, following a modestly active summer window during which seven AIS‑transmitting tankers were recorded loading crude. The report’s figures and timeline are presented without further operational or commercial commentary.
The absence of discernible draft increases on the AIS signals of the tankers discussed is the central empirical claim in the reports item published on 5 November 2026. The publication’s summary supplied the chronology and volumes that form the basis for the account above.