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Full Article Images of March Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read North Korea's rocket launch ends in failure: South Korea 12 Apr 2012 Exclusive: Iran ships "off radar" as Tehran conceals oil sales 10:23am EDT Embarrassed by rocket crash, North Korea may try nuclear test | 12:05pm EDT Big gap between races in U.S. on Trayvon Martin killing 12 Apr 2012 Flap over Ann Romney shows campaigns' anxiety on women voters 9:54am EDT Discussed 292 Trayvon Martin call was ”mistake, not deliberate”: NBC 118 Obama healthcare law could sharply worsen U.S. deficits: study 92 North Korea launches rocket amid international condemnation Watched North Korea rocket launch fails 12:07am EDT "Robo-guard" on patrol in South Korean prison Thu, Apr 12 2012 Transgender beauty says she wants to compete for Miss Universe Tue, Apr 3 2012 Pictures Reuters Photojournalism Our day's top images, in-depth photo essays and offbeat slices of life. See the best of Reuters photography. See more Inside North Korea Rare scenes from within the reclusive state. Slideshow Refugee art Drawings on the canvas of tents in Syrian refugee camps on the Turkish-Syrian border. Slideshow Exclusive: Iran ships "off radar" as Tehran conceals oil sales Tweet Share this Email Print Related News China to begin delivering supertankers to Iran in May 3:35am EDT UPDATE 2-IEA says oil market fundamentals easing Thu, Apr 12 2012 Iran can stand 2-3 year oil blockade: Ahmadinejad Tue, Apr 10 2012 Iran imposes oil "counter-sanctions" on EU: TV Tue, Apr 10 2012 UPDATE 5-Iran imposes oil "counter-sanctions" on EU - TV Tue, Apr 10 2012 Analysis & Opinion Titanic’s century-old metaphor misses the point Euro zone powerless to avoid big oil divide Related Topics World » A general view of an oil dock is seen from a ship at the port of Kalantari in the city of Chabahar, 300km (186 miles) east of the Strait of Hormuz January 17, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Raheb Homavandi By Christopher Johnson and Peg Mackey LONDON | Fri Apr 13, 2012 10:23am EDT LONDON (Reuters) - Iran is concealing the destination of its oil sales by disabling tracking systems aboard its tanker fleet, making it difficult to assess how much crude Tehran is exporting as it seeks to counter Western sanctions aimed at cutting its oil revenues. Most of Iran's 39-strong fleet of tankers is now "off-radar" after Tehran ordered captains in the National Iranian Tanker Co (NITC) to switch off the black box transponders that are used in the shipping industry to monitor vessel movements, oil industry, trading and shipping sources said. "Iran, helped by its customers, is trying to obfuscate as much as possible," said a senior executive at a national oil company that has done business with Iran. And Iran may have countered a reported reduction in its oil sales in March by offering big discounts in the form of free freight, finance and insurance and generous credit terms, the sources said. Europe's July 1 oil embargo, and U.S. and European financial sanctions against Iran's nuclear program have seen Tehran's oil sales drop to most Western destinations and drawn promises from some Asian buyers that they will cut purchases. But cheap, covert sales may have curbed or even reversed the reduction in shipments, the sources say. Discretion is paramount. Ship captains steering NITC supertankers have switched off recognition systems and customers are keeping business strictly under wraps. "People are being very secretive right now. They are not talking about this on email, Yahoo or mobile," said the head of a crude oil desk at a top oil trading houses. A Reuters' survey of the Iranian fleet via the ship tracking system AIS (Automatic Identification System) Live shows only seven of its 25 very large crude carriers are still operating on-board transponders, allowing computers to track vessels. Only two of NITC's nine smaller Suezmax size tankers now have their tracking systems in operation, shipping sources say. "NITC oil tankers are going to operate in stealth mode," said a shipping official, who declined to be identified. Under normal circumstances, tankers would generally not turn off their tracking systems, which were introduced to improve safety at sea and allow marine authorities to locate vessels. Ships are obliged by international law to have a satellite tracking device on board when travelling at sea. However, a ships' master has the discretion to turn off the device on safety grounds with the permission on the vessel's flag state. Some tankers turned off their trackers to avoid detection last year during the Libyan civil war in order to trade with the Gaddafi government. As sanctions make it harder to pay for and ship oil from Iran, it is increasingly difficult to gauge how much is moving out of the country's main terminal at Kharg Island. Iran's Oil Minister, Rostam Qasemi, has said Tehran's crude exports are steady at last year's rate of 2.2 million barrels per day. But that has been hard to square with tanker tracker data and market intelligence. Expert opinion is that Iran's visible crude oil sales fell to about 1.9 million bpd in March. These calculations are backed by some of the best oil industry forecasters in the business including the International Energy Agency and Geneva-based Petrologistics, the respected tanker tracking consultant which monitors global oil shipments. New estimates for April put Iranian exports down by as much as 500,000 bpd from last year. The trouble is there is no hard evidence that Iran's oil production has actually fallen or that it is going into storage. Millions of barrels of Iranian oil that were in storage in Iranian tankers a few weeks ago now seem to have disappeared, ship tracking data shows. So where is it going? Has it been re-routed, has production been shut in or is the oil being stored somewhere else? Is it all being stored at sea? "It's the million-dollar question - the billion-dollar question even," a senior executive in Asia at a large oil trading house said. The hunt is getting more complicated as OPEC's second biggest producer comes up with a range of tactics to avoid scrutiny. "Some big Asian companies may be taking oil on Iranian ships provided they switch off the transponders," said another European shipping industry source. A trader in Singapore said Iran has managed to sell all the crude stored on half a dozen vessels floating off Singapore earlier in the year. The buyers were mainly Chinese and South Korean. Given the lack of visibility of NITC's fleet, it will become increasingly difficult to measure floating storage. Industry sources say parts of the fleet were storing up to 12 million barrels of crude in March. That has now disappeared. An NITC official, contacted by Reuters, declined to comment. NITC have declined to give press interviews for several weeks. BIGGER FLEET Tehran is about to have greater flexibility in disguising the locations for oil sales. NITC will take delivery of the first of 12 new supertankers to be delivered from China in May. Iran does not have the capacity by itself to ship all of its exports, either chartering more ships or leaving it to importers to hire their own vessels. It has long been assumed Iran would sell most of the oil shunned by Europe to China, its long-term strategic and commercial ally. But until now there has been scant proof. India, however, has been buying oil on Iranian ships on extended credit for several months, industry sources say. "China and India are our lifters of last resort," said an Iranian oil official, who declined to be identified. "And the sanctions are making the situation very good for them." The senior oil trading executive agreed: "We think China is taking most of the Iranian overhang and is keeping very quiet." China's imports in April should climb back to contract volumes of around 560,000 bpd after a cut to half that in the first quarter when Chinese refiner Sinopec reduced purchases to negotiate better prices with the National Iranian Oil Company. If Iran is using its own ships to deliver oil to customers, paying for the freight charges, that would be worth nearly $5 million per voyage. Traders say Iran is sometimes also covering insurance, increasingly difficult to finance on international markets. Insurance runs to millions of dollars per delivery. Buyers are also demanding, and often getting, much better credit terms from the National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC) than normal - as long as six months to pay for each cargo of 2 million barrels. That could be worth up to $10 million per shipment. Put it all together and it amounts to as much as 10 percent of the value of each supertanker. (Additional reporting by Jonathan Saul; Editing by Richard Mably and Giles Elgood) World Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (17) CaptRon wrote: Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Back to top Reuters.com Business Markets World Politics Technology Opinion Money Pictures Videos Site Index Legal Bankruptcy Law California Legal New York Legal Securities Law Support & Contact Support Corrections Connect with Reuters Twitter Facebook LinkedIn RSS Podcast Newsletters Mobile About Privacy Policy Terms of Use AdChoices Copyright Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance Our next generation legal research platform Our global tax workstation Thomsonreuters.com About Thomson Reuters Investor Relations Careers Contact Us Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. 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