The U.S. Navy blockade of Iranian ports appeared to be working on Wednesday, with no Iranian-linked ships visibly able to leave the region since the blockade took effect 48 hours earlier, according to U.S. authorities and vessel-tracking firms.
Several vessels appear to have stopped or slowed after exiting the Strait of Hormuz into the Gulf of Oman, “which may reflect the deterrent effect of the blockade,” Kpler, a maritime data company, noted in a report on Wednesday.
Still, the data is likely incomplete because of how difficult it is to track ships in and around the strait. While most commercial vessels are required to travel with transponders that transmit a ship’s name, location and other identifying information, many vessels in the Persian Gulf are hiding their location or falsifying other information, according to experts.
Adm. Brad Cooper, the U.S. Central Command leader, said late Tuesday that the blockade had been “fully implemented” and had “completely stopped” commercial traffic to and from Iranian ports. More than a dozen Navy warships are patrolling waters east of the strait, enforcing a blockade on all vessels from all nations entering or leaving coastal areas or ports in Iran.
Central Command said on Wednesday that nine vessels had complied with directions to turn around and re-enter an Iranian port or coastal area, though it did not give details. Kpler, which also uses satellite data to track ships when their location appears to have been falsified, said two ships with links to Iran and subject to U.S. sanctions appeared to have made U-turns. Eight additional ships that have historically carried Iranian cargo were stationary in the Gulf of Oman or slowing down, according to Ana Subasic, an analyst at Kpler.
One of the ships that reversed course, the Rich Starry, a Chinese tanker under U.S. sanctions, was traveling east through the strait on Tuesday before turning around. The other ship, the Ostria, was heading toward an Iranian port and was turned back before it could pick up cargo, most likely Iranian refined products.
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