PNN – Citing ship tracking data, AFP reported that despite the US claim of a naval blockade, the movement of ships linked to Iran continues, and the extent of the success of this measure is unclear.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network; Analysts’ assessments and ship tracking data paint a complex picture of what the United States calls a naval blockade of Iran. The ships’ shifting targets and covert activities also make it difficult to gauge the success of the U.S. operation.
Bridget Deacon, an analyst at shipping magazine Lloyd’s List Intelligence, told AFP: There is confusion about the scope and parameters of the blockade due to conflicting information provided by the US government and some delays in the release of information.
The AFP reported that, despite the ceasefire between Tehran and Washington, US forces began a naval blockade against Iran on April 13: A US defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the force now measures the success of the blockade by the amount of damage it inflicts on Iranian commerce, not by the number of ships that pass through.
According to the report, tracking data and satellite imagery analyzed by shipping companies also show that dozens of ships, including Iranian-flagged ships under US sanctions and ships traveling to and from Iranian ports, have crossed the “red line.”
Therefore, it is difficult to count the number of ships that have managed to bypass the blockade, due to conflicting definitions and other factors. Some of the sanctioned ships have sailed westward into the Persian Gulf, beyond Hormuz, but have declared their destination as Iraq or other non-Iranian destinations.
Deacon said: Once in the Persian Gulf, ships can manipulate their transmitters to hide their position and even conduct ship-to-ship transfers of Iranian oil, testing the conditions of the US blockade.
Several Iranian-linked ships also appear to have turned off their transmitters as they left the Persian Gulf and then reappeared in the Arabian Sea. Satellite imagery viewed by shipping companies appears to confirm their route.
Meanwhile, tracking data shows that at least two ships have traveled unhindered to and from the Persian Gulf, or have delivered or received food supplies at Iranian ports.