Oil tankers go dark in Hormuz Strait to evade attacks, switch oil mid-sea

Oil companies in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates are employing a novel strategy to transit the Strait of Hormuz. Tankers are disabling their Automatic Identification System (AIS) transmitters at night and proceeding under military escort through the crucial waterway.

The Greek supertanker Kiku, for example, sailed from Qatar's Mesaieed terminal in late July. Days later, near Dubai, its signal vanished from maritime traffic monitoring systems. It reappeared across the Strait of Hormuz the following day. This "going dark" tactic, supported by the U.S. Navy, aims to mitigate attack risks for oil producers in the Middle East.

After passing through the strait, tankers head to the Gulf of Oman. There, crude oil is transferred to other vessels bound for customers in China, Taiwan, South Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand. CNN reported over a dozen such ship-to-ship transfers in just two days. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates daily oil traffic through Hormuz at 8-9 million barrels, significantly more than publicly available AIS data suggests. Kpler data indicates about 80% of recent traffic involved disabled transponders.

Satellite imagery and radar systems can still detect vessels despite the AIS blackout. This tactic allows exports to continue but fails to address the core security issues in the Strait of Hormuz. Until a lasting political and security solution is found, the disruption to one of the world's most vital shipping lanes persists, affecting global oil supplies and fuel markets, with rising demand for diesel and jet fuel straining refinery capacities.