A second Iranian ship that Western news reports have named as part of a scheme to import a missile propellant ingredient from China is heading to Iran with a major cargo load, an exclusive VOA analysis has found. Ship-tracking websites show the Iranian-flagged cargo ship Jairan departed China on Monday, a month later than the expected departure cited by one of the news reports.
The Jairan was named in January and February articles by The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal and CNN as one of two Iranian cargo ships Tehran is using to import 1,000 metric tons of sodium perchlorate from China. The three news outlets cited unnamed Western intelligence sources as saying the purported shipment could be transformed into enough ammonium perchlorate — a key solid fuel propellant component — to produce 260 midrange Iranian missiles.
The other Iranian cargo ship named in the news reports, the Golbon, completed a 19-day journey from eastern China to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas on Feb. 13. During the trip, it made a two-day stop at southern China’s Zhuhai Gaolan port and delivered an unknown cargo to Iran, according to ship-tracking website MarineTraffic.
Both the Golbon and the Jairan are sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department as vessels operated by the state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, which itself is sanctioned for being what the State Department has called “the preferred shipping line for Iranian proliferators and procurement agents.”
As the Golbon sailed from China to Iran in late January and early February, the Jairan’s automatic identification system transponder — a device that transmits positional and other data as part of an internationally mandated tracking system — reported the vessel as being docked at eastern China’s Liuheng Island.
In a joint review of the Jairan‘s AIS data on MarineTraffic and fellow ship-tracking website Seasearcher, VOA and Dubai-based intelligence analyst Martin Kelly of EOS Risk Group determined that the Jairan reported no significant draught change while docked at Liuheng Island through February and into early March. That meant the Iranian vessel was sitting at the almost same depth in the water as when it arrived in eastern China late last year, indicating it had not been loaded with any major cargo since then.
The Jairan remained at Liuheng Island until March 3, when it headed south toward Zhuhai Gaolan and docked at the port on March 8. Two days later, the Jairan departed, reporting its destination as Bandar Abbas with an expected arrival of March 26. The Iranian ship also reported a significant draught change upon leaving Zhuhai Gaolan, transmitting data showing it was sitting more than 2 meters deeper in the water and indicating it had taken on a major cargo at the port, Kelly told VOA.
As of Friday, local time, the Jairan was in the waters of Indonesia’s Riau Archipelago, heading southwest toward the Singapore Strait.
The U.S. State Department had no comment on the Jairan’s departure from China when contacted by VOA. Iran’s U.N. mission in New York did not respond to a similar VOA request for comment, emailed on Tuesday.
Last month, the State Department told VOA it was aware of the January news reports by The Financial Times and Wall Street Journal regarding Iran’s purported use of the Golbon and Jairan to import sodium perchlorate from China.
A spokesperson said the State Department does not comment on intelligence matters but “remains focused on preventing the proliferation of items, equipment, and technology that could benefit Iran’s missile or other weapons programs and continues to hold Iran accountable through sanctions.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning responded to the news reports in a Jan. 23 press briefing, asserting that China abides by its own export controls and international obligations and rejects other countries’ imposition of what Beijing considers illegal unilateral sanctions.
In the past month, Chinese state media have made no reference to the Jairan, while China’s social media platforms also have had no observable discussion about the Iranian ship, according to a review by VOA’s Mandarin Service.
In its Jan. 22 report, The Financial Times cited “security officials in two Western countries” as saying the Jairan would depart China in early February, but it did not leave until March 10.
Gregory Brew, a senior Iran analyst at the Eurasia Group, a New York-based political risk consultancy, said Iran may have wanted to see if the Golbon could complete its voyage from China without being interdicted before sending the Jairan to follow it.
“Ships carrying highly sensitive materials related to Iran’s missile industry, which is under U.S. sanctions, are at risk of interception, and the Iranians likely are conscious of that,” Brew said.
Eight Republican U.S. senators led by Jim Risch and Pete Ricketts sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the purported Iran-China chemical scheme dated Feb. 4, urging him to work with global partners of the U.S. “to intercept and stop the shipments currently underway” if the press reports proved accurate.
There was no sign of the Golbon being intercepted on its recent China to Iran voyage.
Responding to VOA’s query about the letter, a U.S. State Department press officer said: “We do not comment on Congressional correspondence.” Ricketts’ office also did not respond to a VOA inquiry about whether Rubio has responded to the senators’ letter.
VOA’s Mandarin Service contributed to this report.
