A Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) belonging to Iran’s National Iranian Tanker Company has successfully evaded the US Navy and reached the Asia Pacific, carrying more than 1.9 million barrels of crude oil valued at nearly $220m, according to TankerTrackers.com, Al Jazeera reports.

In a post on X, the monitoring firm identified the vessel as “HUGE” and said it was last sighted off Sri Lanka more than a week ago. The tanker is currently traversing the Lombok Strait of Indonesia towards the Riau Archipelago.

TankerTrackers.com said that HUGE was in Iranian waters on April 13, when the US Navy announced its blockade on Iranian ports. It said HUGE had not transmitted on the Automatic Identification System (AIS) since March 20, when it departed the Strait of Malacca for Iran.

The report comes after Iranian state media claimed on April 29 that at least 52 Iranian ships had breached the US blockade. The US military, meanwhile, has said it has forced some 41 Iran-linked vessels to reverse course since the blockade began.

Opinion

Editorial

On press freedoms
Updated 03 May, 2026

On press freedoms

THE citizenry forgets, to its own peril, how important a free and independent media is in the preservation of their...
Inflation strain
03 May, 2026

Inflation strain

PAKISTAN’S return to double-digit inflation after 21 months signals renewed economic strain where external shocks...
Troubled waters
03 May, 2026

Troubled waters

PAKISTAN’S water crisis is often framed in terms of scarcity. Increasingly, it is also a crisis of contamination....
Iran stalemate
Updated 02 May, 2026

Iran stalemate

THE US and Iran are currently somewhere between war and peace. While a tenuous ceasefire — extended largely due to...
Tax shortfall
02 May, 2026

Tax shortfall

THE Rs684bn shortfall in tax collection during the first 10 months of the fiscal year is a continuation of a...
Teaching inclusion
02 May, 2026

Teaching inclusion

DISCRIMINATORY and exclusionary content in Punjab’s textbooks has been flagged in Inclusive Education for a United...