How Ships Are Trying to Break Through the US Blockade in the Strait of Hormuz | BBC News

Why It Matters

The uncertainty around the blockade’s effectiveness threatens oil price stability and forces shippers to reassess risk and compliance strategies in a geopolitically volatile region.

Key Takeaways

• US blockade targets all vessels entering or leaving Iranian ports
• Ships evade detection by disabling AIS transponders, going “dark.”
• False‑flag vessels use non‑existent registries to bypass sanctions
• Satellite imagery now tracks oil loading despite AIS blackout
• Ambiguity in blockade rules hampers assessment of its effectiveness

Summary

The BBC report examines how the United States’ newly announced maritime blockade in the Strait of Hormuz is being tested by Iranian‑linked tankers and their intermediaries.

According to ship‑tracking analysts, vessels that meet the U.S. criteria are either turning around after entering the prescribed corridor or switching off their Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponders – a practice known as ‘going dark.’ The analysis also highlights the prevalence of false‑flag ships flying registries that do not exist, a tactic used to evade sanctions.

Specific cases cited include the tanker Elpus, which vanished from AIS shortly after crossing the blockade line, and the vessel Alicia, which sailed under the bogus Curacal flag after delivering Iranian oil to China. Satellite imagery of Iran’s K‑Island export hub allows analysts to infer loading activity even when ships remain invisible to AIS.

The murky enforcement environment makes it difficult to gauge the blockade’s true impact, but the combination of AIS manipulation, false flags and satellite monitoring signals a growing cat‑and‑mouse game that could affect global oil supply, insurance premiums and compliance costs for maritime operators.

Original Description

Tehran has sought to restrict traffic through the Strait of Hormuz during the US-Israel war with Iran, but some vessels continued to attempt to transit the waterway. The US also introduced its own blockade on ships entering and leaving Iranian ports.

On April 17, Iran said the strait would reopen to commercial vessels, though the US blockade of Iran’s ports would remain in place.

BBC Verify has been monitoring the situation closely but often has to rely on partial vessel data and expert insights to understand developments in the region. The strait is one of the most scrutinised waterways in the world, with around a fifth of global oil supply passing through it.

Before the April 17 announcement, Ben Chu spoke with Michelle Weise Bockmann, a maritime intelligence analyst at Windward, about how tankers are trying to break through the US blockade in the strait.

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