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Middle East oil tankers increasingly use extended “dark mode” tracking
Tracking data cited by Bloomberg shows AIS positioning is being switched off for several consecutive days, expanding beyond just Strait of Hormuz transits.
Oil tankers transiting key Middle East chokepoints are increasingly using “dark mode” navigation, with transponders and AIS positioning switched off for longer periods as shipping risks rise in the region, according to ship-tracking data monitored by Bloomberg, cited by OilPrice.
The shift has moved beyond earlier short windows used when crossing the Strait of Hormuz and has spread to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait as well, where Iran-aligned Houthis have targeted Saudi-linked ships and cargoes, including oil exports out of the Saudi port of Yanbu on the Red Sea.
OilPrice also points to Bloomberg-monitored examples showing vessels keeping their positioning off for several consecutive days rather than only a few hours during passage through the straits.
In one case highlighted, the supertanker Romania Prosperity disappeared from radars off Fujairah in the Gulf of Oman at the end of July and then reappeared 10 days later, though tanker-tracking services and observers could not confirm whether it retained the same crude cargo or transferred it to another ship.
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