Originally Posted by
AirScotia
Thanks,
BonnieLass , but I'm wondering whether Marine Traffic is a reliable source for Hormuz at the moment, if so many vessels are co-ordinating their spoofing?
I have mentioned a few times on past updates that ships are still passing through dark (AIS turned off). Reasons for going dark vary from company orders to wanting to escape any issues with the USN / shadow fleet. Quite often the shipping company orders their Captain to go dark when passing through anywhere risky...such as the two Straits........the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab-el-Mandab Strait, they are also frequently dark as the sail the Gulf of Aden from Salalah to well into the Red Sea so that they are essentially hidden from potential pirates (I have experienced that myself when sailing from Salalah into the Red Sea and Strait of Hormuz, all external lighting off apart from basic navigation lights and AIS off. Both Straits will have a lot of preparation done on the ships....heavy wire cages welded to lower decks, armed guards, high pressure hoses and LRAD.)
Edited to add a couple of photos from one of my trips in the region...one of the armed guards and the cage welded onto the lower deck areas to prevent climbing / access by "uninvited guests"
