The tanker is involved in the transportation of sanctioned Iranian oil, in particular, the vessel was used by Iran in July 2023 to deliver almost 2 million barrels of Iranian light crude oil, and resorts to deceptive practices, including disabling the AIS system and conducting dark activities near Malaysia.
Iran relies on an extensive network of tankers and ship management companies in multiple jurisdictions to transport its oil to foreign customers, using deceptive tactics such as falsifying documentation, manipulating ship tracking systems, and constantly changing ship names and flags. One of the most commonly used tactics to evade oil sanctions is 'flag hopping' in various national registries, which allows the vessel to carry out transportation and have the right to moor. This tactic is often accompanied by the creation of fictitious companies, change of owners, managers, ship names, and change of physical markings of the vessel. Some shipowners deliberately use flag registries to evade sanctions, many of which do not have the resources and capabilities to track and verify the history of ships.