Nearly 900 outbound oil tankers went dark to squeeze through the Strait of Hormuz. About two-thirds used shadow fleet tactics to avoid detection in May amid the Iran conflict. Kpler data shows 895 ships crossed the passage from March 1 to May 19. Vortexa reports the share going dark rose from 37 percent in the first month to 65 percent in May. Analysts note this AIS-off behavior is becoming standard protocol. Oil losses from the Middle East rose to an average of 710000 barrels per day starting in May. US Central Command intercepted 133 ships as of Thursday while aiding around 70 others near Oman.
In WWII during the battle known as Iron Bottom Sound the battleship Washington used its 1st generation radar to successfully target the Japanese ships during a nighttime shootout. Turning off the AIS maritime transponder does not 'hide' the ship from the US surveillance assets... though it may hide the ship from the Iranian targeting drones, etc...
So the ships are willing to 'run the gauntlet' of mines....
Willing to risk potential collisions, which is what AIS is for....
Reading of the tea leaves
This is a coordinated withdrawal from the Gulf with the US purposely turning a blind eye to 'their escape', lol
many, if not most, of the mines have already been removed by the US
the US WANTS these ship to leave so that they can then become vessels used to carry non Iranian oil in the future... i.e. oil prices globally drop
the 'Acid Test' of the blockade so to speak is whether ships are allowed to enter the Strait after leaving. That is the tell, and turning off AIS transponders is NOT going to be effective in that scenario. Which leads to the limited reports of US stopping ships. Are these vessels that are trying to enter the Gulf??
The blockade is a one way inverse 'roach trap' . They can leave, but can never enter again.
On average about 100 ships a day transited out of the gulf pre conflict. Tjese guys are n just trying to go home. Id be surprised if any were even loaded.
Nearly 900 outbound oil tankers went dark to squeeze through the Strait of Hormuz. About two-thirds used shadow fleet tactics to avoid detection in May amid the Iran conflict. Kpler data shows 895 ships crossed the passage from March 1 to May 19. Vortexa reports the share going dark rose from 37 percent in the first month to 65 percent in May. Analysts note this AIS-off behavior is becoming standard protocol. Oil losses from the Middle East rose to an average of 710000 barrels per day starting in May. US Central Command intercepted 133 ships as of Thursday while aiding around 70 others near Oman.
SOURCE: https://x.com/OwenGregorian/status/2063593841244995995 SOURCE (mirror): https://xcancel.com/OwenGregorian/status/2063593841244995995
They did it out of desperation. The crews were running out of food and the shipping companies were running out of money.
And radar couldn't detect those?
No, there was a report they turned off their transponders.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radar
In WWII during the battle known as Iron Bottom Sound the battleship Washington used its 1st generation radar to successfully target the Japanese ships during a nighttime shootout. Turning off the AIS maritime transponder does not 'hide' the ship from the US surveillance assets... though it may hide the ship from the Iranian targeting drones, etc... So the ships are willing to 'run the gauntlet' of mines.... Willing to risk potential collisions, which is what AIS is for....
Reading of the tea leaves
The blockade is a one way inverse 'roach trap' . They can leave, but can never enter again.
Didn't we just see a post about remaining in the shadows?
On average about 100 ships a day transited out of the gulf pre conflict. Tjese guys are n just trying to go home. Id be surprised if any were even loaded.