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Tankers cross the Strait of Hormuz at night with transponders off under US protection: report

From Arab Times · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire Unnamed sources Ongoing story
  • Oil tankers and cargo ships are reportedly using the southern Strait of Hormuz and switching off tracking transponders while transporting crude.
  • US forces escorted 40 commercial vessels carrying about 18 million barrels of oil through the strait on Tuesday, according to the report.
  • The report said US forces also struck nearly 60 Iranian military targets, including air defenses, radar and maritime assets.

Oil tankers are increasingly moving through the Strait of Hormuz at night with their tracking transponders switched off. Some are doing so under US military protection as Gulf producers try to keep crude shipments moving amid attacks attributed to Iran.

The vessels reportedly use the southern section of the strait, closer to Oman and farther from Iran’s coast. Oil is then transferred to customer vessels in the Gulf of Oman. CNN observed more than a dozen ship-to-ship transfers over two days, according to the report.

The US military escorted 40 commercial vessels through the waterway on Tuesday. Together, they carried about 18 million barrels of oil, described as a wartime high. A US official told CNN that most, if not all, of the escorted ships turned off their transponders during the crossing to avoid detection.

US forces also struck nearly 60 Iranian military targets in the area, including air-defense systems, radar, maritime assets, mine-laying capabilities and communications sites.

About this summary

Originally published by Arab Times in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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