Ships Crossing the Strait of Hormuz Use Iranian Routes Not a Call from the US

ILLUSTRATION/US Navy DOC

JAKARTA - The Marisks maritime intelligence group noted that almost all ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz over the past three days have used routes set by Iran. None of them used the southern route near the Omani coast promoted by the US.

A total of 78 ships have been observed crossing the Strait of Hormuz since Saturday, Marisks said. Of these, 20 ships are Iranian flags.

All 58 non-Iranian vessels that passed through used the route set by Iran, while no vessels were recorded using the southern route - a route promoted by the United States military as an alternative to other shipping lanes.

"The latest AIS data, which indicates the position of the ship, indicates that "all detected non-Iranian commercial ship traffic continues to choose the Iranian-controlled northern route, regardless of the existing political implications and sanctions," Marisks said.

"The only movement near the southern side is that of local UAE vessels and offshore support vessels, not international merchant shipping," he added.

Another maritime intelligence group, Windward, on Monday, July 27, noted only seven crossings through the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, July 26, all of which were made via the northern route.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has repeatedly warned it will target vessels attempting to cross the strait without Iranian permission.

Iran has diverted ships trying to use what it calls "illegal and unsafe routes" through the southern part of the Strait of Hormuz, state broadcaster IRIB reported on Monday, citing an unnamed "source familiar with the matter."

The ships "tried to cross an illegal and unsafe route south of the Strait of Hormuz," IRIB said.

Amid a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, there were 24 tankers waiting at Iran's main loading port on Kharg Island on Sunday - up from 21 the previous day - according to Windward data.