At least six ships have managed to cross the Strait of Hormuz in recent days, most after turning off their maritime tracking signals or trying to hide their actual positions, according to MarineTraffic data analyzed by CNN.
The ships — including three bulk carriers, an oil tanker and two tankers for transporting oil and chemicals — since March 6.
The Strait of Hormuz is an important energy resource route, responsible for about a fifth of global crude oil transport. He is effectively out of war, after the Iranian Armed Forces warned that any ship passing by would be attacked.
Among the ships identified by CNN and by MarineTraffic is the Dalia, one that transports oil and chemicals and has been the target of sanctions from the US Treasury Department and the European Union.
According to the data, the vessel stopped transmitting its Automatic Identification System, a mandatory tracking system for ships, on March 8 after approaching the strait from eastern Iran.
It reappeared on MarineTraffic on March 10 after transiting the strait, before docking in Iran’s Bandar Imam Khomeini port a day later.
A similar tactic was used by the Shenlong, a Liberian-flagged oil tanker that arrived in Mumbai, India, on March 11, and the KSL Hengyang, a Singapore-bound bulk carrier sailing under the Jordanian flag.
Others, like the Palau-flagged oil tanker Parimal, appear to have followed a normal route through the strait until March 7, when they were affected by GPS interference, according to data from MarineTraffic.
Other ships near the strait began transmitting messages apparently designed to dissuade Iran from attacking them.
The messages, transmitted where the ship’s destination port is normally sent, include “Chinese owner, all Chinese” and “China owner and crew”, loosely translated (“CHINAOWNERALLCHINESE” and “CHINA OWNER&CREW”).
