Shipping becomes 'dark' in Strait of Hormuz: Vessels go offline amid heightened regional tensions | Src: ABC Australia (AU) | Desc: Marine traffic observers have revealed hundreds of commercial ships have crossed out of the Strait of Hormuz, often by taking "dark" journeys through Iran's "toll-booth route" or with the guidance of the United States. | Article text: Marine traffic observers have revealed hundreds of commercial ships have crossed out of the Strait of Hormuz, often by taking "dark" journeys through Iran's "toll-booth route" or with the guidance of the United States. Analysts also say some Iranian tankers are likely slipping past the US blockade in the opposite direction and entering Iranian waters to be used to store oil offshore.With new strikes across the region in recent days, any progress on opening the Strait of Hormuz via negotiation has been plunged into uncertainty.But in the weeks since the United States-Iran ceasefire was announced and American warships moved into the Gulf of Oman to enforce a blockade on Iranian ports, some vessels have been sailing in and out of the crucial waterway without their marine tracking transponders switched on.The numbers are still far below typical pre-war traffic levels, when up to 140 commercial vessels crossed the strait each day, but all prominent marine intelligence organisations are reporting a level of activity.Marine intelligence company Windward has been monitoring traffic via satellite and told the ABC it has observed more than 80 commercial ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz and leaving the Persian Gulf in the last five weeks.These vessels transited either by negotiating safe passage with Iran with support from US forces."We believe that most, but not all, dark transits that have occurred have been with the knowledge and permission of Iran via diplomatic level negotiations," Windward analyst Michelle Bockmann said.Windward is watching each vessel that crosses out of the Strait of Hormuz and adding it to the tally once it has made it to the Arabian Sea and left the area, indicating it is genuinely making an onward journey.Ms Bockmann noted nearly 40 "dark transits" had taken place in the strait between March 1 and May 7, in the weeks following the outbreak of the war.Each marine tracking organisation has different parameters for how it is quantifying traffic around the Strait of Hormuz, including what type of vessel is included and where the vessels go once they cross.Lloyd's List, another monitor, estimates nearly 40 formerly stranded, non-Iranian vessels exited the Persian Gulf in the three weeks until June 3, bringing total departures since March to 142.Another marine intelligence company, Kpler, recorded a much higher number of crossings and told the ABC 264 ships had exited Persian Gulf since the start of the ceasefire until early June.Out of those, 22 were Iranian-flagged and half of those Iranian ships were part of the dark fleet.This traffic has been making its way across the Strait of Hormuz to exit the Persian Gulf, but some empty Iranian tankers have been making their way in despite US warships patrolling the Gulf of Oman, according to analysts.The strait's significance has been in the spotlight since Iran placed an effective chokehold on the shipping route used for 20 per cent of the world's oil and gas trade, as well as one third | Src: ABC Australia (AU) | Lang: en | id: 01KTM9VNCET9WGS1K4SE1J0B8V

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