Recent Sentinel-2 satellite images captured open flames still burning at two Iranian oil refineries days after multiple crude oil storage tanks were damaged. Images taken on Wednesday showed huge plumes of smoke rising from two damaged crude oil storage tanks. Eight days ago, Iran's semi-official Mehr News Agency reported that an unexplained explosion occurred at the factory.
One of the storage tanks that caught fire had a capacity of about 1 million barrels of crude oil — enough to cover 3.9 hours of motor vehicle travel across the United States, according to maritime research group Tanker Trackers. At the Rawan refinery, 95 miles from Siri, satellite images showed crude oil leaking from multiple storage tanks and flowing into the Persian Gulf. Shana News Agency, a media agency affiliated with the Iranian Oil Ministry, previously reported that the facility was hit by an "enemy" air strike on April 8. Satellite images from April 10 captured the massive oil spill caused by the damage, seen from space.
Due to recent cloud cover affecting satellite imaging, it is unclear whether there are still open fires burning in the factory area.
The media combined satellite images and expert analysis to reveal that although the United States is imposing a naval blockade on Iran and intends to impose heavy economic sanctions on Tehran, five empty oil tankers have recently sailed into Iranian ports in the Persian Gulf and began loading millions of barrels of crude oil.
In the Gulf of Oman on the other side of the Strait of Hormuz, five oil tankers that were originally lingering outside Iran's easternmost port disappeared from satellite images later this week. A U.S. official said the ships left the Gulf of Oman hours before the U.S. blockade took effect and have since been placed under U.S. control and tracked. The official revealed on Friday afternoon: One of the oil tankers has returned to the Iranian port, two have turned back midway, and the remaining two fully loaded oil tankers are being followed and monitored by US destroyers throughout the Arabian Sea.
The Washington Post combined satellite images, ship navigation data, and interviews with multiple parties to restore the maritime shipping dynamics in the US military blockade area. According to this statistics, 10 ships have been included in the scope of US blockade control due to related navigation behaviors; the data also shows that the crude oil transportation of oil facilities in Iran has not been interrupted, but the carrying ships have not sailed out of the blockade.
