After moving near the Iranian coast, all 3 oil tankers have now reached international waters.
Among the successful trips, the New Future and Auroura began moving northeast from the waters off the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the early morning of April 13, according to ship tracking data.
These two medium-sized oil tankers seem to have chosen a route just south of Iran's Larak Island, a route that Tehran recently recommended ships follow when moving east.
The New Future ship has crossed the curve of the Strait of Hormuz and is currently off Sohar port, Oman. The Auroura ship is near the exit of the waterway route in the Gulf of Oman.
At the same time, the NV Sunshine liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanker entered the strait in the opposite direction to enter the Persian Gulf. NV Sunshine began moving north from the waters off Sohar, Oman Gulf at the end of April 12 and has now entered the Gulf, signaling it is heading towards Sharjah (UAE).
The New Future ship is carrying more than 330,000 barrels of oil, loading goods at Hamriyah port (UAE) in early April. The ship entered the Persian Gulf area just before the conflict broke out in late February. According to the Equasis maritime database, this flagship ship of the Marshall Islands is owned and managed by Chuanglang Shipping.
The Auroura ship flying the Panama flag said it has an Indian crew. The ship has been sanctioned by the US since December for being involved in Iran's oil trading activities. The ship has been operating in the Gulf region since December 2025. The owner of the ship is identified as Aurora Shipowners based in Mumbai, India.
The trips of these 3 ships took place just hours before the US officially imposed a blockade of the area around the Strait of Hormuz, after negotiations between Tehran and Washington broke down at the weekend.
The restrictive measures apply to all ships entering and leaving Iranian ports or coastal areas and take effect from 10 am on April 13, New York time.
Meanwhile, unlike the 3 oil tankers mentioned above, the US naval blockade affected commercial transport activities at the end of April 13. It seems that other ships are hesitant, with at least 2 ships abandoning their planned routes.
Among them, the oil product ship Rich Starry, sanctioned by the US, turned around while leaving the area near Qeshm Island of Iran.
