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Jaya departedChina for Singapore amid signs of unsuccessful discharge

The US-sanctioned 'Jaya', which had been assuming the identity of a scrapped vessel, is now heading towards Singapore after spending about 10 days in waters near Dalian. Now renamed 'Quasar', the vessel is using the IMO number of Sos (IMO: 9233791), which was dismantled in 2022. The AIS draught readings suggested it was unable to discharge its cargo during this latest trip to China. Quasar received around 1.8m barrels of Iranian crude via a ship-to-ship transfer with a National Iranian Tanker Co vessel offshore Singapore on May 8. Before continuing up China’s coast, the vessel lingered near Dongjiakou between May 23-27 and attempted to call at the port with an ETA of May 24, declaring the cargo as Iraqi. Satellite imagery did not capture the vessel alongside at Dongjiakou during this period, nor later at the port of Dalian. The 'Jaya' evaded detection by repeatedly changing its name and MMSI numbers, adopting the identity of a scrapped ship and spoofing AIS/GNSS data, enabling it to covertly transport Iranian oil to China despite tightening US sanctions and global surveillance. The vessel has since sailed to waters near China’s Zhejiang province, with its AIS destination now set as Singapore, after departing Dalian on June 10. On its previous voyage to China in April, the 'Quasar' successfully discharged about two million barrels of Iranian crude at Dongjiakou. The cargo was transferred from another NITC tanker in the Gulf of Oman around March 12, after which Jaya adopted the International Maritime Organization number of the scrapped 'Sos' and later changed its name to 'Quasar'. Over the past three months, the 'Jaya' has broadcast false positions and identities, appearing as multiple vessels and complicating tracking by authorities and analysts, highlightings the growing sophistication of sanctions evasion tactics. Meanwhile, China’s oil trade and related companies are facing increasing pressure from the US. Earlier this year, three private Chinese refineries and three terminal operators were added to Washington’s sanctions list for allegedly accepting Iranian crude oil. The Shandong Port Group, which manages Dongjiakou and several other major nearby ports, issued a ban in January on servicing sanctioned vessels, especially those blacklisted by the US.

Several tankers and entities sanctioned

On Dec 3, 2024, the United States announced sanctions on 35 entities and vessels that have been involved in the transport of Iranian petroleum and derivatives to foreign markets. The reasons for this have been cited to be the Iranian attacks on Israel on Oct 1 as well as Iranian announcements of nuclear escalations. The goal of the sanctions has been stated to be hamstringing the Iranian nuclear program, the advancement of their drones and missiles, and their sponsoring of terrorist proxies by cutting off the funding from the sale of oil. A total of 35 entities and vessels have been targeted in this most recent move. 18 tankers have been sanctioned, being alleged to have shipped tens of millions of barrels of oil for Iran. In addition to these vessels, a number of entities that operate and manage these vessels, as well as those that facilitate the sale of Iranian oil, have also been sanctioned. The 'Rioo Napo' and 'Lara II' have been sanctioned as they are owned and managed by India-based Vision Ship Management LLP, which has been sanctioned itself. The RIO NAPO has also carried Iranian Naptha to the UAE in the past. The 'Tonil' has been known to skirt previous sanctions and transport millions of barrels of Iranian oil. The tanker is owned and managed by the sanctioned Ukrainian Lightship Management Ltd. Another sanctioned company, the Indian Tightship Shipping Management (OPC) Private Ltd,, is also known to be involved in the ship’s management.

JAYA 9410387

Two U.S. Navy warships patrolling the Gulf of Oman disrupted an attack on Feb 4, 2011, by pirates on the "Duqm" sailing from Fujairah to Yeosu in South Korea. The USS "Momsen" and the USS "Bunker Hill" responded to a call from the vessel, whose crew reported pirates were attempting to board their ship. The warships arrived to find two pirate skiffs pulled up to the tanker with ladders out to board the ship. The Navy vessels chased off the pirates and tracked their movements back to a larger ship from which they were operating in the Arabian Sea. The Navy then fired on and destroyed the skiffs to prevent their use in further attacks.