On May 24 (US time), according to Fox News, maritime surveillance activities in the area near Fujairah port of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) unexpectedly recorded a situation where many oil tankers stopped transmitting automatic identification (AIS) signals, raising concerns about new developments in the Strait of Hormuz.
Maritime analysis company Windward AI said that the AIS system in the Fujairah area has experienced widespread disruption. This is a technology that helps track the location, route and basic information of ships operating at sea.
According to Windward AI, this phenomenon may be related to electronic jamming activities, cyber warfare, or some ships actively turning off signal transmitters.
Ships are still present in the area. However, the amount of goods loaded has decreased and a significant number of ships have disappeared from the tracking system," the company said.
The developments occurred just hours before US President Donald Trump announced that Washington and Tehran had made significant progress in peace talks.
On the same day, Fujairah port recorded the first crude oil shipment with a volume of about 1.35 million barrels transported to South Korea by a large oil tanker.
According to observers, this is the first signal that oil flow from this area may be gradually recovering after weeks of disruption due to military tensions and blockade measures.
However, while the US is sending optimistic signals about the negotiation process, Iran continues to affirm its control over the Strait of Hormuz - an energy transport route considered the most important in the world.
Iranian officials declared that this strait will continue to be under the management and sovereignty of Tehran, regardless of the outcome of future negotiations.
Previously, Iran established the Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA), a unit supervised by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
According to experts, this agency requires ships to provide information about goods, crew, insurance and travel schedules when passing through Hormuz. Some sources also suggest that the new system may come with separate fees or licensing procedures.
Experts say Tehran is considering Hormuz as one of the most important influencing tools besides the nuclear issue, in the context that negotiations with the US still have many unresolved issues.
The Strait of Hormuz is currently the route transporting about 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas, causing any fluctuations in this region to strongly impact the global energy market.
