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Iran has continued shipping large amounts of crude oil to China through the Strait of Hormuz even as the war between the U.S.-Israel and Iran has disrupted traffic through the strategic waterway, according to shipping data and analysts cited by CNBC.
Iran has sent at least 11.7 million barrels of crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz since the war began on Feb. 28, all of it headed to China, Samir Madani, co-founder of TankerTrackers, told CNBC on Tuesday.
TankerTrackers monitors vessel movements using satellite imagery, allowing it to identify ships even when their tracking systems are switched off. Many vessels have "gone dark" after Tehran threatened to attack ships attempting to pass through the waterway.
Shipping intelligence firm Kpler estimates that about 12 million barrels of crude oil have passed through the strait since the conflict began.
"Given that China has been the primary buyer of Iranian crude in recent years, a significant share of these barrels could ultimately head there," Nhway Khin Soe, crude analyst at Kpler, told CNBC, adding that confirming the final destinations of the vessels has become increasingly difficult.
The Strait of Hormuz, which carries about one-fifth of the world's oil and gas supply, has seen shipping traffic slow significantly since the war began.
Tankers have largely avoided the waterway, which has become increasingly dangerous.
Ten vessels in or near the Strait of Hormuz were attacked by Tehran less than two weeks into the conflict, killing at least seven seafarers, according to the International Maritime Organization.
Oil tankers passing through the strait "must be very careful," a spokesman for Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in an interview with CNBC's Dan Murphy on Monday.
Satellite imagery showed that three of the six tankers that departed Iran since Feb. 28 were Iranian-flagged, Madani said.
As oil prices surged amid fears of supply disruptions, U.S. President Donald Trump said ships near the Strait of Hormuz should continue their passage.
Ships stranded near the waterway need to "show some guts" and move through the channel, Trump told Fox News host Brian Kilmeade.
"There's nothing to be afraid of, they have no Navy, we sunk all their ships," Trump said.
Iran's Kharg Island terminal, located about 15 miles off the Iranian mainland, has long served as the country's main oil export facility, handling about 90% of crude exports before tankers pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran has also resumed loading tankers at the Jask oil and gas terminal on the Gulf of Oman, south of the Strait of Hormuz, potentially expanding its export capacity.
According to TankerTrackers, an Iranian vessel was loading 2 million barrels of crude oil at Jask, marking only the fifth such loading at the facility in the past five years.
The renewed activity at Jask suggests Tehran is exploring alternatives to the Strait of Hormuz, though the route's viability remains uncertain, Soe said.
The Jask facility is Iran's only crude export outlet on the Sea of Oman that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz entirely, but it has rarely been used due to operational inefficiencies.
Loading a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) at Jask can take up to 10 days, Madani said, compared with about one or two days at Kharg Island.
"It has good domestic propaganda value, but not much in terms of a logistical advantage," Madani told CNBC.
Despite continued exports, Iranian shipments to China have declined since the war began.
Iran shipped about 1.22 million barrels per day to China, significantly lower than before the conflict.
In February, Iran exported about 2.16 million barrels per day, the highest level since July 2018, according to Kpler's Soe, with all shipments destined for China.
China also accelerated efforts to build oil reserves in the first two months of the year.
Crude imports rose 15.8% year-on-year, according to customs data released Tuesday.
Iranian crude loadings reached a record 3.78 million barrels per day during the week of Feb. 16, more than double the previous weekly average of about 1.48 million barrels per day, Kpler data showed.
China has accumulated about 1.2 billion barrels of crude stockpiles as of January, enough to meet demand for three to four months, according to the Atlantic Council.
China's stockpiling efforts intensified this year after the U.S. targeted two of Beijing's key oil suppliers, Venezuela and Iran.
The U.S. captured Venezuela's leader Nicolas Maduro, in a military strike earlier this year, while Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, was killed in the U.S.-Israel war against Iran last month.
The war in the Middle East has kept tensions around the Strait of Hormuz high and global energy markets on edge.
Oil prices surged to nearly $120 per barrel on Monday, the highest level in four years, after several Persian Gulf producers curbed output and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz largely halted.
Global leaders have moved to address the risk of a supply shock.
Leaders of the Group of Seven, including the U.S., are reportedly considering the largest release of oil reserves in history, while Trump has indicated the war could end soon.
Oil prices have since eased. U.S. WTI crude for April delivery fell to about $84.9 per barrel as of Tuesday at 10:50 p.m. ET, while Brent crude for May delivery traded at $88.9 per barrel.
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