By Rong Wei Neo
Oct 6, 2026 (Bloomberg) – The US blockade on Iran is causing a backup of oil tankers along the country's coast, with others waiting off the coast of Sri Lanka, according to the organization United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI).
Currently, at least 50 tankers loaded with Iranian oil are stuck near Iran, which is about the same situation as two months ago. This information comes from UANI's regular shipping update on October 5. Most of these vessels are carrying crude oil, along with other petroleum products and liquefied petroleum gas.
In other areas, empty vessels are hanging around in the Indo-Pacific instead of returning to Iranian ports due to the US blockade. UANI reports that there are twenty Iranian-flagged ships positioned off Sri Lanka and one near Oman.
The blockade, imposed by US forces, aims to put heavy economic pressure on Iran to force it to comply with various demands. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent mentioned in an interview with Axios that for the first time ever, Iran would have no oil shipments in the water this week. According to US military data, a total of 130 vessels have been rerouted.
Inside the Persian Gulf, UANI reported that at least 11 tankers are anchored east of Kharg Island, which is Iran's primary export terminal, and another five are located further south. No tankers were observed loading oil at Kharg Island on Monday.
Bloomberg's preliminary vessel-tracking estimates indicate that Iran did not load any crude oil onto tankers in September, marking the first time this has happened since the conflict began in February.