【By Observer Net, Zhang Jingjuan】The Middle East situation, triggered by the US-Israel air strikes on Iran, is continuing to spill over to the global energy transportation bottleneck of the Strait of Hormuz. Under the war, more and more stranded merchant ships are taking "identity disguise" measures - changing their vessel transponder information to claim they are Chinese vessels.

A report by the UK's Financial Times on June 6 showed that according to an analysis of the maritime vessel tracking platform Marine Traffic, at least 10 ships have changed their destination signals to "Chinese shipowner", "all Chinese crew members", or "there are Chinese crew members on board" in the past week.

Data from the Lloyd's Market Association shows that approximately 1,000 ships are currently stranded in the Gulf and its surrounding waters, with a total value of about $2.5 billion.

To avoid becoming a target, some ships have also taken another approach: falsifying GPS signals to mislead guided weapons. The shipping satellite image analysis platform TankerTrackers.com stated that these ships appear as densely stacked together on shipping data platforms.

The types of ships that have altered their transponder signals vary, including container ships, oil tankers, etc., some fully loaded with cargo, others empty.

According to reports, the captain is responsible for the vessel transponder signal, which is mainly used for communication with nearby ships and avoiding collisions, but the destination information field can be easily modified.

Matthew Wright, analyst at the shipping data company Kpler, said, "They can almost change anything, fill in whatever they want. Crews are trying to conceal their association with specific ports, destinations, or nationalities, which involves a certain degree of deception."

Many ships are stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, AFP

Currently, most ships remain stranded within the Gulf. Ship tracking data shows that a ship named "Iron Maiden" changed its vessel identification signal to "China-owned" and passed through the Strait of Hormuz on the 4th.

In addition to impersonating a "Chinese identity," a few ships chose other identity markers. On Saturday, the day the conflict broke out, a liquefied petroleum gas tanker named "Bogazici" broadcasted that it was a "Muslim-owned, Turkish-operated" ship when passing through the Strait of Hormuz, and only resumed its original name after leaving the dangerous area.

Wright said that this practice of evading risks by changing identities has not occurred for the first time, and can be traced back to the Red Sea situation in 2023. At that time, the Houthi rebels in Yemen began attacking merchant ships, and many ships had used similar methods to avoid risks. In the current situation, crews are willing to try any possible way to reduce the risk of being attacked.

Since the outbreak of the conflict, in response to the open aggression by the US and Israel, Iran has targeted energy facilities in the Gulf region and vessels passing through the strait. Currently, the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global energy shipping route, is nearly closed, leading to the interruption of about one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.

According to sources, China maintains friendly relations with Iran and highly depends on Middle Eastern energy supplies, so it is urging Iran to open safe passages for relevant ships.

Another Middle Eastern sugar industry executive revealed that some ships are still able to pass through the strait smoothly. These ships are either owned by China or Iran.

This may be the core reason why many ships choose to alter their identities.

On the 4th, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning reiterated that the Strait of Hormuz and its adjacent waters are important international cargo and energy trade channels. Maintaining the security and stability of this region is in the common interest of the international community. China urged all parties to immediately stop military actions, avoid further escalation of tensions, and prevent the situation from causing greater impacts on the global economy.

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Original: toutiao.com/article/7614332532590461450/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author themselves.