🛢 HORMUZ TRACKER: Iran-Linked Ships Are the Only Ones to Transit

During the observed window, one Iran-linked bulk carrier departed the Persian Gulf, according to vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. No ships appeared to make the journey in the opposite direction.

The last commercial ship with no apparent link to Iran to transit Hormuz was the Chinese-owned bulk carrier Sino Ocean, which made the crossing on Saturday morning.

Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital energy artery, has effectively halted following several attacks on merchant ships. Missile and drone activity continues to pose a critical risk to all vessels in the vicinity.

The inability to move oil tankers into and out of the Gulf means storage tanks are filling and some refineries have cut capacity. Iraq has been forced to scale back production, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates have followed, while Saudi Arabia is boosting shipments from its terminals in the Red Sea to record levels. By Friday, there were just nine empty supertankers in the Gulf, tracking data show.

Widespread signal interference and disabled transponders have made real-time tracking of ships difficult around the Strait of Hormuz. This gap in reporting prevents consistent daily oversight, as ship locations often remain unknown until they reappear on satellite feeds days later.

When potential transits are identified, signal histories are examined to determine if the movement appears genuine, or are the result of spoofing — where electronic interference can falsify the apparent position of a ship.

Some transits may not have been detected if vessels’ transponders haven’t been switched back on. Iran-linked oil tankers often steam from the Persian Gulf without broadcasting AIS signals until they reach the Strait of Malacca about 10 days after passing Fujairah. Other ships may be adopting similar tactics and won’t show up on tracking screens for many days.