The Very Large Crude Carrier Huge resurfaced near Vietnam carrying roughly 2 million barrels of Iranian crude after disappearing from vessel tracking systems earlier this month, Kpler said in a Thursday note.
Satellite images taken on May 13 showed the VLCC tanker sailing north near Vietnam after the vessel stopped broadcasting AIS signals following a May 3 transit through the Lombok Strait, according to Kpler.
Kpler said the tanker appears to be heading toward China after avoiding the more closely monitored Malacca Strait route used by many Middle Eastern crude shipments.
The vessel's final destination remains uncertain, although Kpler said the cargo could move toward offshore areas near Hong Kong where dark ship-to-ship transfers of Iranian oil have previously occurred.
Kpler identified Huge and Derya as two of the first confirmed Iranian crude tankers to reroute through the Lombok Strait as enforcement pressure increased along Southeast Asia's main oil shipping corridor.
Huge loaded crude near Iran's Kharg Island around April 1, while Kpler satellite imagery later located the tanker near Chabahar on April 13, shortly before US blockade measures started.
The tanker later vanished from tracking systems before briefly reappearing on AIS data on May 2 during its Lombok Strait transit, the report said.
Kpler said the vessel's route and tracking gaps indicate operators are trying to avoid growing surveillance and enforcement activity along the Malacca Strait corridor.