谁还在买伊朗石油？
浩瀚的公海曾经是偷运者隐匿行踪的天堂。
但近年来，执行特殊拍照任务的卫星被送入轨道，它们每天传回数千万张照片。数据专家将实时卫星照片、船运数据相结合创建了机器学习分析工具，从而能够高效追踪船只。这对企图逃避美国制裁的伊朗原油运输船来说，无疑是个打击。
Ships carrying Iranian crude have long used tactics like changing their flags of registration or switching off their radio signals to avoid detection amid Western sanctions.
But when a new U.S. oil export ban begins on Nov. 5, many of the tricks of seaborne oil smuggling are less likely to be effective at helping Tehran circumvent the coming trade barriers. That is thanks to improved satellite tracking and big-data technology that weren’t widely available just a few years ago, according to current and former Western officials focused on sanctions.
“Iran’s ability to turn its tankers truly into ghost-ships will be more limited,” said Richard Nephew, former deputy coordinator for sanctions policy at the U.S. State Department.
Investigators can use the smallest details, including shadows, to detect how much cargo a vessel is carrying. That can allow them to trace when and if that cargo has been unloaded. A ship with no cargo weighing it down sits high in the water, casting a longer shadow. One that is laden with cargo will be much heavier, and sit much lower, casting a shorter shadow.
By Benoit Faucon
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