April 1, 2026: Iran War Maritime Intelligence Daily in International Shipping News 02/04/2026 Operational Overview 36% of transits seen March 31 were on US-sanctioned vessels, while 27% were Greece-owned bulk carriers shipping agricultural commodities to or from the Islamic Republic. This highlights how the selective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is benefiting Iran. Strait of Hormuz Transit and Selective Denial Transit through the Strait of Hormuz remained active on March 31, but access continues to be tightly filtered. 1 tanker, four cargo (2 containerships, 2 general cargo vessels) inbound transits while 1 tanker, 5 cargo (1 containership, 1 general cargo, 3 bulk carrier) exited the Gulf, according to AIS signals. While daily volumes are 93% down on average levels, tracking shows that Iran is gradually increasing transits daily since imposing its selective blockade on the Strait around March 15 by rerouting ships via Larak Island. West of Hormuz Oil Exports Drop 76% in March March oil loadings at ports West of Hormuz declined 76% in March compared with February. Exports of crude and condensate, clean petroleum products and dirty petroleum products loaded on tankers totalled 5.28m bpd in March, compared with 22.2m bpd the prior month. Crude and condensate loadings reached 4.3m bpd in March, compared with 16.6m bpd in February. Clean petroleum products were at 880,000 bpd compared with 4.95m bpd in the prior month. Of the 142.5m barrels tracked being loaded, 128m barrels remain in transit or floating storage indicating the severity of the closure which has prevented tankers leaving Hormuz to deliver cargoes. Qatar Energy-Chartered Tanker Hit By Missile Panama-flagged 47,917 dwt tanker AQUA 1 (IMO 9573660) was struck by two Iranian cruise missiles about 17 nautical miles north of Ras Laffan, Qatar on April 1. The vessel sustained port-side hull damage above the waterline. All 21 crew members were evacuated safely with no injuries reported. No environmental impact or oil spill was noted. Qatar’s armed forces detected three Iranian cruise missile launches with two intercepted, and one striking AQUA 1. The vessel was on charter to Qatar Energy. One missile caused a fire which has since been extinguished. The other remains unexploded within the vessel’s engine room and is being investigated by the relevant authorities, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre. The UKMTO has logged 24 maritime incidents since February 28 across the Middle East Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, and Gulf of Oman including 16 confirmed attacks, and eight suspicious events. The AQUA 1 attack followed the March 31 drone strike on Kuwaiti VLCC AL SALMI at Dubai Anchorage. The vessel’s last confirmed port call was Ras Laffan, Qatar between March 8-11. India Buys Iranian Oil Under US Waiver PING SHUN (IMO 9231901), an OFAC-sanctioned Aframax crude oil tanker flying the false flag of Eswatini is transporting ~600,000 barrels of Iranian crude from Kharg Island, Iran to Vadinar, India—the first Iranian oil delivery to India since May 2019. Both tanker & operator (Nycity Shipmanagement Co Ltd, China) are designated under OFAC Executive Order 13902 (Iran sanctions) on February 25, 2025. The expected receivers are either Indian Oil Corp., Bharat Petroleum Corp., or Nayara Energy Ltd. India-Iran trade was previously at 518,000 bpd (11.5% of India’s crude imports) in 2018 The voyage was enabled by U.S. General License U (issued March 20, 2026), authorizing delivery of I