Shipping data showed that Iran has dispatched oil tankers carrying about 11 million barrels of crude from its ports over the past 24 hours, as tensions escalate again with the United States and President Donald Trump threatens to reimpose a blockade on Iranian ports.

Tanker tracking data compiled by Bloomberg monitored five very large crude carriers (VLCCs) and one Suezmax tanker leaving Iranian ports, with four indicating their positions in the Gulf of Oman, while another tanker crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday.

This Iranian commercial maritime fleet appeared as the US military launched airstrikes on Iran for the second consecutive day in response to Tehran's recent attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, threatening to undermine the interim peace agreement between the two countries, according to the German news agency dpa.

The renewed instability has led other shipping companies to resume caution regarding movement in the Gulf, and most visible maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has ceased.

Bloomberg noted that the 11 million barrels carried by the tankers that left Iranian ports over two days are roughly equivalent to Iran's pre-war exports for a week, although it is unclear whether there will be buyers for these shipments.

Earlier this week, tens of millions of barrels of Iranian oil remained effectively stranded on tankers after the United States revoked a waiver allowing Iranian oil to be exempt from US sanctions.

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