The cargo it carried—oil produced by Russia’s Gazprom Neft—disappeared from global tracking systems for a short time, suggesting that the oil may have been secretly transferred to another vessel.
Initially, shipping records showed that the Meru was headed for the Indian port of Vadinar. However, its digital tracking data first displayed a route toward the Suez and later changed to the Persian Gulf. The tanker then vanished from the Automatic Identification System (AIS), only to reappear near the Strait of Hormuz—a known area for discreet cargo transfers.
Signals indicate that the Meru arrived at the Strait on Tuesday, left the following day, and reported a draft that suggested it had offloaded its cargo.
This cargo transfer is especially notable because the oil and the vessels involved are subject to U.S. Treasury sanctions imposed on January 10.
Before loading onto the Meru, the oil was transported on other sanctioned vessels, including shuttle tankers and the Umba oil tanker.
A maritime database shows that the Meru is managed by Night Moon Navigation LLC, based in Baku, Azerbaijan, although the company did not respond to requests for further details. After leaving the Strait of Hormuz, the Meru headed to Duqm on the Omani coast, arriving on Thursday.
Its arrival and empty status were confirmed by Tankertrackers.com, a service that uses satellite imagery, shoreside photography, and real-time AIS data to track crude oil shipments.
