This trick is appearing more and more in the risky sea around the Strait of Hormuz.
According to MarineTraffic's maritime tracking data, at least 10 ships in the past week have changed information transmitted through transponders, with lines such as "Chinese Owner" (Chinese ship owner), "All Chinese Crew" (all Chinese crew) or "Chinese Crew Onboard" (Chinese crew on board).
This move takes place in the context of about 1,000 ships being stuck in the Persian Gulf and surrounding areas, with a total estimated value of about 25 billion USD according to statistics from the Lloyd's Market Association. These ships are almost unable to leave the area due to the increasing risk of being attacked.
In recent days, Iran is said to continue targeting ships not only at the exit of the Strait of Hormuz - the world's most important oil and gas transport route - but also in the waters further north, near Kuwait. A hollow fuel tanker was attacked by drones in this area in the middle of last week.
To reduce the risk of becoming targets, some ships also apply other measures: Manipulating GPS signals to mislead guided weapons. According to maritime research firm TankerTrackers. com, many ships on maritime tracking platforms are currently displayed overlapping as if they are gathering at the same location, a sign that the positioning signal has been adjusted.
Ships changing identification signals belong to many different types, from container ships to oil tankers. Some are carrying goods, while others are running empty.
Most are still trapped in the Persian Gulf, but some ships have tried to escape. For example, the Iron Maiden crossed the Strait of Hormuz on March 5 after temporarily changing the signal to "Chinese Ship Owner". When it reached the waters off Oman, this ship returned to the initial identification information.
Some other ships chose to "change their nationality" in a different way. On the first day of the conflict with Iran, the fuel tanker Bogazici passed through the Strait of Hormuz with the signal "Muslim Vsl Turkish" before restoring its real name when leaving the dangerous zone.
In maritime operations, the captain is responsible for managing signals emitted from the ship's transponder. This system is mainly used to communicate with surrounding ships and avoid collisions, but the destination or identification information can be changed quite easily.
Mr. Matthew Wright - an analyst at the Kpler maritime data platform - said that the crew can actually enter almost any information into this data field.
Basically, they can change everything, want to record anything," he said, arguing that this is a form of deception aimed at concealing connections with specific ports, destinations or nationalities.
According to Mr. Wright, this approach is not new. It appeared in 2023 in the Red Sea, when Houthi forces in Yemen began attacking commercial ships in the area.
It is still unclear whether Iranian forces or related groups are actually avoiding attacks on ships claiming to be linked to China.
