Two ships transit Hormuz for Iranian ports despite U.S. blockade: media

Alsharq Tribune-Ahmed Essam 

At least two vessels transited through the Strait of Hormuz en route to Iranian ports after altering their Automatic Identification System (AIS) destination data, following a U.S. blockade on ships entering and leaving Iran, British shipping media Lloyd's List reported on Tuesday.

The report said that following the enforcement of the blockade, some vessels with intended calls at Iranian ports were observed adjusting their AIS destination signals while passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

According to the report, shortly after the blockade took effect, at least two Iran-flagged container ships previously indicating sailing to the southern Iranian port of Bandar Abbas changed their AIS messages to the more general designation of "PG Ports," meaning "Persian Gulf ports."

After successfully passing through the Strait, they continued their journey toward Bandar Abbas on Tuesday, said the report.

Citing analysts, the report said such actions could complicate the intelligence collection phase of the U.S. blockade and require additional resources to track and identify vessels involved in maritime traffic to Iranian ports.

The U.S. Central Command said Tuesday that more than 10,000 troops are executing the mission to blockade ships entering and departing Iranian ports, targeting vessels of all nationalities without discrimination.