Before the start of the armed conflict, approximately 15 million barrels of oil passed through the Strait of Hormuz daily — roughly one-fifth of the world's maritime oil flow. After Iran effectively closed the strait, traffic declined by more than 90%. But not for everyone.

How It Works

According to Bloomberg and Reuters, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has developed three separate tactics for exporting cargo.

• "Dark transit" — vessels cross the strait with AIS transponders disabled, devices that normally allow tracking of their location. This method was previously associated mainly with sanctioned countries.
• Transshipment at sea — a tanker exits the strait, transfers its cargo to a partner vessel in safer waters, then returns to the Gulf for another shipment. According to JFeed, final destinations include refineries in Malaysia and South Korea.
• Oman buffer — oil is unloaded at Oman's storage facilities, which maintains a neutral position on the conflict, and then transshipped to other vessels for further transport.

According to satellite analytics from Kpler and SynMax, in April Adnoc exported at least 6 million barrels this way: 4 million barrels of Upper Zakum crude and 2 million barrels of Das crude — on four tankers.

Partners and Risks

As Bloomberg reports, Adnoc engages vessels managed by Navig8 and Chinese Wanhua Chemical Group for these operations — both oil tankers and gas carriers. The scheme allows for rotation: a vessel passes through the strait, transfers cargo, and returns.

"This strategy demonstrates Adnoc's increased risk tolerance to maintain market supplies — particularly after the UAE's exit from OPEC."

Bloomberg, citing traders and sources familiar with the situation

In parallel, Saudi Aramco Trading also conducts separate shipments through the strait, but according to Bloomberg, in significantly smaller volumes. Most other regional producers either lease tankers — whose owners are unwilling to take risks — or wait.

Scale of the Blocked Flow

For context: before the conflict, 20 million barrels per day passed through the strait on peak days — exceeding the capacity of all regional land pipelines combined (approximately 9 million barrels per day). Brent prices have already crossed $100 per barrel since the conflict began in February 2026. Asian and European natural gas markets rose 54% and 63% respectively.

6 million barrels per month — this is less than 0.5% of the pre-war monthly volume flowing through the strait. In other words, Adnoc is not closing the deficit — it is protecting its own commercial position.

Legal Zone of Turbulence

"Dark" passages with disabled transponders technically violate international maritime conventions — yet under de facto closure of the strait, no international body has publicly responded. This raises questions not only about Adnoc, but also about international maritime law in circumstances where neither UNCLOS nor the IMO have enforcement mechanisms against state parties to an armed conflict.

If Iran publicly identifies and detains even one "dark" Adnoc vessel — will the UAE officially acknowledge the operation, risking escalation, or silently retreat, losing the commercial scheme that is currently working?