Second Iranian supertanker Slips Through US Navy Blockade And Enters Indonesian Waters

Last Updated:May 04, 2026, 11:19 IST

Iranian tankers DERYA and HUGE reportedly evade US naval monitoring in Southeast Asia, as Trump unveils Project Freedom to help trapped ships exit the Strait of Hormuz

An Iranian oil tanker has reportedly become the second supertanker in recent weeks to slip past US naval monitoring and make its way through Southeast Asian waters, underscoring the high-stakes cat-and-mouse game over Tehran’s crude exports and Washington’s sanctions regime.

According to oil shipping monitoring firm TankerTrackers.com, the Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) DERYA is currently navigating Indonesian waters through the Lombok Strait and heading towards the Riau Archipelago. The vessel’s latest movements come after a failed attempt in mid-April to deliver 1.88 million barrels of Iranian crude oil to India.

In its report shared on X, TankerTrackers.com said it had tracked the DERYA continuing south at a time when “her sister ships in the area were being redirected back to Iran by the US Navy." The group stated that the tanker is now “underway to her rendezvous point in the Riau Archipelago."

The development follows the firm’s earlier disclosure that another Iranian supertanker, the HUGE, had also managed to bypass US naval efforts. That vessel, carrying 1.9 million barrels of crude, was likewise spotted in the Lombok Strait and is believed to be heading towards the Riau region.

Data from TankerTrackers.com indicates that around 25 tankers left Iran with crude oil in April. Of those, the US Navy reportedly redirected 7 vessels back to Iranian ports, while US forces seized 2 others. The monitoring suggests that the remaining tankers from the April departures have either reached their intended destinations or arrived at designated rendezvous points.

Among them is the National Iranian Tanker Company’s HUGE, which is said to have successfully evaded the US Navy to reach the Asia-Pacific region. Carrying more than 1.9 million barrels of crude, valued at nearly USD 220 million, the HUGE was last seen off Sri Lanka’s coast over a week ago. TankerTrackers.com noted that the ship has not transmitted on the Automatic Identification System (AIS) since 20 March, after it departed the Strait of Malacca for Iran.

These tracking reports coincide with claims by Iranian state media on 29 April that at least 52 ships have successfully breached what Tehran describes as an American blockade. Despite such assertions, Al Jazeera reports that US officials insist the measures are working and have deprived Iran of billions of dollars in oil revenue. Washington maintains that Iran is currently unable to export oil at normal levels and will be forced to store crude until capacity is exhausted and production must be curtailed.

Trump Announces ‘Project Freedom’

Amid rising tensions over maritime security and oil flows, former US President Donald Trump has announced a new initiative, dubbed “Project Freedom", aimed at assisting commercial vessels trapped in the Strait of Hormuz.

In a post on Truth Social on Sunday (local time), Trump said that multiple countries had appealed for US help to ensure their ships could exit the key waterway safely. He stressed that many of these states “are not involved in the Middle Eastern dispute going on so visibly, and violently, for all to see," but have vessels “locked up in the Strait of Hormuz, on something which they have absolutely nothing to do with."

Trump said Washington had agreed to step in to guarantee safe passage for these ships, describing the effort as being “for the good of Iran, the Middle East, and the United States." He stated that US forces “will guide their Ships safely out of these restricted Waterways, so that they can freely and ably get on with their business," focusing on vessels from regions “that are not in any way involved with that which is currently taking place in the Middle East."

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