Ships turn off trackers to slip through Strait of Hormuz – WSJ
Ships are turning off tracking systems and moving through the Strait of Hormuz in small groups, sometimes with guidance from the US military, as the waterway remains dangerous but not fully closed, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The report said some vessels, including large oil and liquefied natural gas tankers, have been sailing “dark” by switching off lights and Automatic Identification System, or AIS, beacons that help ships track one another and avoid collisions.
According to the Wall Street Journal, going dark makes vessels harder to detect electronically and less vulnerable to Iranian attacks, but also increases the risk of accidents in one of the world’s most important energy chokepoints.
Some shipowners told the newspaper they had stayed in contact with US military officials while transiting the strait. The report said US forces use radar, drones and other tools to monitor traffic and advise ships on when to go dark and how to respond to Iranian threats.
The Wall Street Journal said a small number of ships have used a route near Oman that US forces had earlier cleared of mines as part of the short-lived “Project Freedom,” while most recent crossings have followed routes specified by Iran or passed without visible tracking.
The report said US forces cleared a relatively safer path with underwater robots before Project Freedom was halted after Iranian attacks on vessels and Saudi restrictions on US access to bases and airspace.
The Wall Street Journal also cited US Central Command as saying the IRGC had attempted to lay sea mines and fired one-way attack drones in the past week. CENTCOM said the US responded by sinking IRGC mine-laying boats and striking missile and drone sites, describing the actions as defensive.
The report added that ships trying to leave the Persian Gulf face heavy financial pressure, with large crude carriers costing thousands of dollars a day to keep idle, insurance premiums rising sharply and crews receiving war-zone pay.
Before the war, more than 100 ships a day passed through the Strait of Hormuz, the newspaper said. Current traffic remains far below that level, with shipowners waiting for brief windows to move vessels out.