Ships have increasingly transited the Strait of Hormuz with transponders off, as US-Iran hostilities escalate, marking a rise in covert maritime activity over recent days.
Vessels are now making covert "dark crossings"
Jul 13, 2026
01:07 pm
What's the storyIn the wake of renewed hostilities between the US and Iran, visible ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has come to a standstill.
Instead, vessels are now making covert "dark crossings," with their transponders turned off.
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Following renewed US-Iran fighting, observable ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has halted, replaced by vessels making secret…
Amid new strikes, the future of the Strait of Hormuz has again been plunged into uncertainty, but ships are finding a way through.
Six commodity carrying vessels transited key global waterway with their transponders turned off on Sunday
To sail through the strait without being detected by Iran, many ships are turning off their Automatic Identification Systems.
Number of ships transiting Strait of Hormuz has nearly doubled in recent days, maritime intelligence company says.
But some vessels are still transiting the strait. Most of the ships still moving are those that operate outside the rules.
