The United States has been using a technique from Iran's playbook to transfer oil out of the Gulf, evading attacks from Tehran even as the Strait of Hormuz remained shut during the West Asia crisis.
The secretive technique involves using ship-to-ship oil transfers, aerial and water drones as guards, and a shuttling technique to transport oil – a method that has long been used by Iran to escape sanctions.
At least 92 ships have been involved in the transfers, according to shipping data and satellite imagery reviewed by news agency Reuters.
The US military oversaw the transfers out of the Gulf region to keep the energy export flowing, despite the Iranian blockade.
The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of global oil consumption normally passes, was largely shut to the global oil traffic ever since the conflict started between the US and Israel on one side, and Iran on the other.
Despite the strait remaining shut, the US military went ahead with the transfer as recently as this week, with 17 pairs of ships seen carrying out simultaneous oil transfers at two sites on June 11, satellite imagery showed.
The transport involved two crucial spots, staggered departure, and other methods to lie low, with the entire operation fully controlled by the US military.
