Ships passing through the Gulf and nearby waters are disguising themselves as Chinese vessels to avoid Iranian attacks, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.
According to FT's analysis of data from maritime traffic platform MarineTraffic, at least 10 ships changed their transponder destination signals to phrases such as "Chinese owner," "all Chinese crew," or "Chinese crew on board" over the past week.
Approximately 1,000 vessels are currently stranded in the Gulf and surrounding waters, according to Lloyd's Market Association. Iran has been attacking civilian ships not only in the Strait of Hormuz at the Gulf's entrance but also in waters near Kuwait.
Ship transponders are primarily used to communicate with nearby vessels under the captain's supervision to prevent collisions, but the destination field can be easily modified.
The vessels changing their transponder signals range from container ships to tankers, including both fully loaded and empty ships, FT reported.
For example, a vessel named "Iron Maiden" briefly changed its signal to "Chinese owner" on the 4th while passing through the Strait of Hormuz at full speed until reaching waters near Oman.
On the first day of the war last month on the 28th, a fuel tanker called "Bogazici" entered "Muslim ship Turkey" while crossing the Strait of Hormuz, then restored its original name upon reaching safety.
Some ships are also using GPS signal manipulation to deceive weapons systems.
These vessels appear clustered and overlapping on shipping data platforms, TankerTrackers noted. Matthew Wright, an analyst at shipping data platform Kpler, explained, "There is a form of deception being employed as crews try to obscure associations with certain ports, destinations, or nationalities." He added, "This practice first emerged in the Red Sea in 2023 when Yemen's Houthi rebels began attacking commercial vessels."
FT noted that "it is unclear whether Iranian forces or their proxies actually treat ships claiming Chinese connections differently," but added that "crews appear willing to try anything that might reduce their risk of being targeted."
