Overview
- The operation has run since early May at two offshore sites off Fujairah (UAE) and Sohar (Oman) and involved scores of tankers with shipping and satellite analysis estimating about 90 million barrels moved.
- U.S. officials and reporting say American forces provided aerial surveillance, compliance screening and designated waypoints to monitor participating vessels rather than conducting hands-on transfers.
- Operators used deliberate tradecraft to avoid detection by shutting off transponders, dimming lights, staggering departures and shuttling cargo between ships with drones and helicopters guiding convoys.
- The effort has faced Iranian hostility that has included attacks near Fujairah and a June 9 helicopter shootdown that some sources link to the operation while U.S. officials dispute direct CENTCOM involvement.
- State-linked Gulf shippers including ADNOC and Kuwait Oil Tanker Company took part in transfers and the method has eased some market pressure but increased collision, environmental and legal risks and left oil provenance opaque.