Iran’s move to close the Strait of Hormuz has halted shipping through the 24-mile stretch of water.
Only a handful of ships have sailed these days, many with their tracking systems switched off or linked to “shadow fleets”.
“They can’t physically close a waterway of that size, but the threat is there,” said Richard Mead, editor-in-chief of maritime risk company Lloyd’s List Intelligence.
Mr Meade said Iran had a history of using everything from ballistic missiles to unmanned aerial and maritime drones.
What is doing it?
Sky News’ data and forensics team focused on 13 ships that transited the Strait of Hormuz between March 2 and 9.
Because some ships turn off their tracking systems, we know the actual number of so-called “dark” practices is much higher.
Tracking data shows that the massive carrier Rojana disappears from tracking and reappears after crossing the Strait of Hormuz. Lack of data is shown by a dashed line. Source – Marine Traffic
In normal times, about 30,000 ships transit the strait a year, or 82 a day, according to data from ocean analysis firm IMF Portwatch.
The animation below shows how shipping traffic has changed dramatically.
Many of the ships we spotted passing through the Strait of Hormuz are connected to Iran, China or Russia. There are also ships from Greece, India, UAE and Singapore.
According to Kpler’s ocean tracking data, five ships operated by the Greek firm Dynacom have transited the strait since the war began.
US President Donald Trump is urging ship owners to “show some courage” and keep sailing.
The ‘Shadow Fleet’ has crossed over
According to Lloyd’s List Intelligence, Shadow Fleet tankers dominate the current crossing of the Strait of Hormuz.
They found that of 13 large oil and gas carriers that crossed between March 2-9, eight were classified as part of the so-called shadow fleet.
A tanker is classified as a shadow fleet if it is carrying approved oil cargo from Iran, Russia or Venezuela.
What was attacked?
Ten ships in or near the Strait of Hormuz have been attacked since Iran blocked the waterway, according to the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
Four ships were attacked on March 1, killing three people and injuring many others that day. Two ships were attacked on 3 March and at least one attack was carried out every day until 7 March.
According to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), a total of 14 incidents from February 28 to March 10 affected vessels operating in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman.
In the interactive map below, suspicious activity, attacks and alerts are shown.
These ships carry the flag of various countries including the US, Marshall Islands, Gibraltar, United Arab Emirates, Bahamas, Panama and India.
On March 4, a Malta-flagged container ship attempted to transit the strait and was hit by a projectile as it approached the midpoint.
Source- Marine Traffic
Tracking shows Safin Prestige discontinued. The attack caused a fire in the engine room and the crew had to abandon ship.
CCTV video of another attack was reviewed by Sky News on the same day. An unmanned drone boat attacked the US-operated ship Sonangol Namibe.
The ship is 30 nautical miles south-east of the coast of Kuwait. The incident caused an oil spill, UKMTO reported.
The IRGC warned that any US, Israeli or European ships detected in the strait would “certainly be hit”.
Damage caused by an Iranian maritime drone to a US-registered tanker in the Gulf
A surge in GPS jamming
There has been a huge increase in GPS jamming in the region. Hundreds of ships jump around the map and then cluster into very small areas.
GPS ship jamming is when signals are interrupted, causing ships to send incorrect locations.
These shipping slots are getting jammed. Ship tracking data shows everything on top of each other. Source – Marine Traffic
It is impossible to know exactly who is behind the jamming but analysts say it could be both Iran and others.
While Iran is widely suspected of trying to disrupt shipping in the region, analysts say the surge in GPS jamming could be linked to others, including ships trying to disguise their movements or respond defensively to threats, making it difficult to attribute the interference to a single source.
How has freight transportation changed?
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has global implications for commercial shipping lanes. The two largest companies, Maersk and Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), account for about 30% of the world’s global containerized shipping capacity.
Both these companies have suspended shipping to the Middle East.
Maersk said: “This decision was taken as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of our crew and vessels.”
Tracking data from MarineTraffic shows the container ship ‘Maersk Cincinnati’ changing its course away from the strait.
On March 2, the data shows that the ship almost made a U-turn at around 2pm UTC. It continued to retreat from the area until 4 March, finally returning to the port of Salalah, Oman, before proceeding to the Gulf of Kutch on 10 March, where it appeared “loaded”, heavily loaded.
Mr Meade said: “We’re seeing a number of ships doing U-turns. They’re getting orders to go and do alternative operations. Now, that’s great for ships going to the Gulf, but for ships already there they’re basically stuck.”
Additional reporting by Joli Santa-Cruz, data journalist
The Data x Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We collect, analyze and visualize data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source data. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while showing how our journalism is done.
