A tanker carrying half a million barrels of oil originating in Iran caught fire near China’s shores on Friday but the crew controlled the blaze.

One day after the incident, Iran’s official IRNA news agency denied there was any link between the country and the oil tanker.

The IRNA report tried to use vague wording in its denial, suggesting that the cargo had been sold by Iran to an intermediary for delivery to a final customer, saying, “IRNA has learned from informed sources that this oil tanker does not belong to Iran and the only possibility is that its cargo belongs to one of Iran’s customers.”

Tanker tracking firm TankerTrackers confirmed the news in a tweet on Saturday, saying that “an old uninsured foreign-flagged tanker carrying half a million barrels of Iranian oil caught fire in the Far East”.

TankerTrackers added that they informed clients of the vessel’s identity and location.

According to reports, Iran normally transfers oil to different tankers in the sea to get round US sanctions since 2018 and send oil to China.

Fars news agency affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard said earlier in February that Iran’s oil export income grew by 494 percent in the first 5 months of the Raisi administration.

Earlier in January, a report detailed Iran’s large diesel smuggling network, revealing the role of the Revolutionary Guard and private shipping companies in the illicit trade.