Four Iran-linked ships transit Strait of Hormuz, tracking showspublished at 10:27 BST
By Joshua Cheetham and Shruti Menon
Ship tracking data analysed by BBC Verify shows four Iran-linked ships have crossed the Strait of Hormuz despite Washington’s naval blockade beginning.
Two of those ships had visited Iranian ports according to MarineTraffic. Its data shows a bulk carrier, Christianna, crossed the strait on Monday after the blockade began having called at Iran’s Bandar Iman Khomeini, according to ship-tracking data.
The Rich Starry, sanctioned by the US for Iran-related trade, sailed east from Sharjah in the UAE through the strait overnight, data shows.
The tanker Murlikishan, which is also under US sanctions for Iran-related trade, sailed from Lanshan in China and headed west through the strait overnight. According to MarineTraffic its last reported position was east of Iran’s Qeshm island.
Another tanker, Elpis, passed the strait heading east overnight having come from the Iranian port of Bushehr, tracking shows. It is also under US sanctions and its destination is unknown.
It is possible these ships have been broadcasting false position reports – known as “spoofing” – to disguise their locations.
The US military has said that, from 14:00 GMT on Monday, it would blockade “all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports”. It said it would “not impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports.
