The Trump administration is tracking the movement of tankers linked to China’s biggest state-run oil company amid signs that the vessels are helping to transport Iranian crude to China in defiance of US sanctions against Tehran.
Bank of Kunlun, a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation, has in recent months employed a fleet of tankers in an apparent bid to move oil from Iran to China, according to one person familiar with the situation and TankerTrackers, a group that monitors oil shipments.
At least three Kunlun-linked tankers have been spotted interacting with Iranian vessels since May in Planet Labs satellite imagery, which was provided to the Financial Times by TankerTrackers alongside maritime data from MarineTraffic.