Iran Loads East of Hormuz: A New Export Node, a Live Toll Regime, and U.S. Enforcement at Sea in International Shipping News 22/05/2026 At a Glance • Iran has activated the Kuh Mubarak offshore loading buoy on its Gulf of Oman coast as a recurring export node, lifting approximately 6.9 million barrels of Iranian Heavy crude over five months from a terminal that exported zero barrels through November 2025, with every barrel destined for China. • An OFAC-sanctioned Aframax-class crude tanker was observed loading at Kuh Mubarak on May 18, the first Aframax lift at the terminal against a prior pattern of almost exclusively VLCC+ cargoes. • The Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) went operationally live on May 18, with India, Iraq, and Pakistan securing bilateral access outside the formal fee structure while Chinese-linked and UAE-managed gray fleet operators absorb the toll regime. • Three VLCCs transited the Strait outbound on May 20 — the first VLCC transits in the current reporting cycle — including a synchronized Chinese-controlled pair openly transmitting AIS and a South Korean-flagged VLCC in a 41-hour dark transit. • The U.S. seized the Iran-linked VLCC SKYWAVE in the Indian Ocean overnight on May 19, the third U.S. seizure of an Iran-linked tanker in the current enforcement campaign. • OFAC designated 19 Iran-trading vessels under a second Operation Economic Fury action, bringing the cumulative total to 28 designations in five weeks and extending into LPG carriers and corporate structures across China, Hong Kong, and the UAE. • Fujairah port issued formal identity-theft enforcement notices against BALDMAN and EAN SPIR on May 18, the first publicly documented Gulf port action of its kind against Iran-linked tonnage. • No shipment of Iranian oil has arrived in Asia for two weeks, with U.S. Central Command reporting 84 commercial vessels redirected and four disabled under the blockade on Iranian ports. Operational Overview The Iranian export environment shifted on