Satellite images show Iran is still loading crude oil at its oil terminals

According to Golden Ten Data on March 9, one week after the US and Israel launched airstrikes against Iran, Iran was still loading crude oil onto tankers at its Kharg Island oil terminal on Saturday. Since there have been no new satellite images since then, it is unclear whether the loading operations are still ongoing. According to a satellite image obtained by the EU Copernicus Browser at 10:48 a.m. local time on Saturday (UTC+8), two Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs, each capable of carrying about 2 million barrels of crude oil) were docked at loading terminals on either side of the island. On the southern and eastern sides of the island, five VLCCs and two Suezmax tankers (each capable of carrying about 1 million barrels of crude oil) were anchored. In addition, Iran was also loading crude oil at the Jask terminal on the eastern side of the Strait of Hormuz. A port photo taken last Thursday showed a VLCC heading toward a mooring buoy. Another image released on X on Sunday by TankerTrackers.com, a company that tracks ships using satellite imagery, showed the same tanker already moored at the terminal.