Mumbai: A majority of India-bound ships from the Persian Gulf are temporarily disappearing from public tracking systems, or ‘going dark’, while passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
That doesn’t mean they are vanishing.
These commercial vessels are deliberately switching off or restricting their public location broadcasts amid major security concerns amid tensions arising from the Iran-US conflict.
Ships typically use Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponders to broadcast their identity, location and destination. In high-risk environments, the ship’s captain sometimes stops transmitting this data, a practice known as ‘going dark’.
As per data from maritime intelligence firm Kpler, nearly 62% of tankers and cargo vessels sailing to India turned off their transponders while crossing the Hormuz.
Between May 1 and June 25, a total of 45 out of 73 ships bound for India passed through Hormuz without transmitting location or identity data.
The precaution stems from shipping companies fearing that vessels openly broadcasting their positions could become easier to identify or target. Many operators have therefore decided to minimise their digital footprint while crossing the narrow but critical waterway.
According to industry experts quoted by NDTV, ‘going dark’ has become the preferred safety measure for commercial shipping in the region.
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