(Bloomberg) — A ship that appears to be taking on the identity of a scrapped gas carrier exited the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, showing how strategies to get through the waterway are evolving as the Middle East war progresses.
The vessel identifying as liquefied natural gas carrier Jamal left the strait on Friday morning, ship-tracking data show. However, the same tanker was also recorded as having beached at an Indian demolition yard in October last year, where it is being broken up, according to market participants and port agent’s reports.
The ship claiming to be Jamal is likely a zombie vessel that takes on the identity of a scrapped, legitimate ship. It marks the first known example of this happening to get through Hormuz since the beginning of the war. Traffic through the strait is now at a virtual standstill as Iranian attacks and threats have turned it into a high-risk zone.
Bloomberg News couldn’t immediately confirm the identity of the zombie ship that crossed the strait, and if it’s a real LNG carrier or another vessel type.
Jamal’s doppelganger only began signaling its assumed identity last week, and its whereabouts were not known before that. On March 13 when it first emerged, the ship indicated Sohar in Oman as its destination and that it was in the Gulf of Oman.
It then stopped signaling, or went “dark,” before re-emerging on March 20 in the Persian Gulf near Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, this time stating that it had no clear destination. It last sent a location signal late on Friday, off the southeastern coast of Iran.
Zombie ships have been used in the sanctioned oil trade before, but the use of one to get through Hormuz adds another category to the type of vessels that have so far managed to exit the waterway. It is also unusual for LNG carriers to be involved in such maneuvers, as such ships are far more specialized and limited in number. The LNG dark trade has been largely limited to the sale of Russian gas to China.
Aside from those with Iranian associations, only a few legitimate vessels have transited — apparently after securing Tehran’s approval. Turkey and India have said that they’ve negotiated with Iran for some of their ships to leave the area. Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported on Saturday that Iran has also said it is ready to allow Japan-linked vessels to pass through the strait.
Some vessels that have exited the strait have turned off their transmission signals for security due to heightened tensions. Heavy electronic interference in the region also disrupts vessel-tracking systems and can falsify a ship’s true location.
Jamal’s manager is Resurgence Ship Management Pvt. in Mumbai, according to international database Equasis. The company did not respond to an email seeking comment sent outside of regular business hours. Jamal’s owner, Liner Shipping Inc., did not have any contact details, but shares the same registered address as Resurgence Ship Management.
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