It shows tankers using a method known as “AIS spoofing” to hide cargo loading points and vessel movements through the Persian Gulf.<\/p>\n
AIS, or automatic identification system, uses transponders to track marine vessels’ movements.<\/p>\n
This can give buyers a veil of legitimacy with sanctioned oil.<\/p>\n
Oil shipment organisation TankerTrackers said this week that up to 2 million barrels of Iranian crude oil were loaded on tankers at Kharg Island in the Strait on March 13.<\/p>\n
TankerTrackers said that it seemed to be “business as usual”.<\/p>\n
Analysts at trade data and analytics company Kpler estimated Iran had been able to export 12 million barrels between February 28 and March 12.<\/p>\n
Ocean Guardian not where it says it is<\/p>\n
To help explain how AIS spoofing is helping Iranian-linked ships transit oil through the Strait of Hormuz, ABC NEWS Verify has tracked the movements of one specific ship.<\/p>\n
Cargo tanker Ocean Guardian, together with another vessel owned by the same company, completed at least 30 shipments from Iran in 2025, according to Starboard Maritime Intelligence analyst Mark Douglas.<\/p>\n
In early February this year, the tanker was recorded travelling under Panama’s flag.<\/p>\n
The tanker lists “New Horizon Maritime Co SA” as its owner.<\/p>\n
Its address is listed as the Manarat Alkhaleej Marine Services FZE Office in the Hamriyah Free Zone, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control designated both Manarat Alkhaleej and Ocean Guardian as “Iran-related”.<\/p>\n
In tracking data examined by ABC News Verify, Ocean Guardian can be seen in the northern part of the Persian Gulf early last month, before the conflict began.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/58e3154114142a338bd76f33c4d730a7.gif\")
<\/p>\n
The Ocean Guardian appears unusually still in tracking data. (Supplied: Starboard Maritime Intelligence)<\/p>\n
The tanker is completely still, which Mr Douglas said could be a sign it was attempting to hide its real position.<\/p>\n
“All the vessels around it are swinging on their anchors,” he said.<\/p>\n
“Vessels don’t stay perfectly still in real life. Even when they’re anchored, they move around as the tide and the wind push them around. But this vessel seems to be completely resistant to all forces of nature.”<\/p>\n
Imagery captured from a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) \u2014 a radar mounted on a satellite that sends pulses to Earth to track changes in terrain and physical structures \u2014 also indicates Ocean Guardian was not where its tracking data claimed it was.<\/p>\n
![\"ocean_guardian_v2-ezgif.com-optimize\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/9294eb2ef8b6eef53b4d847361d30ff9.gif\")
<\/p>\n
SAR imagery shows that the AIS data and the satellite do not correspond. (Supplied: Starboard Maritime Intelligence)<\/p>\n
Instead of a 180-metre cargo tanker, SAR imagery found nothing in its stated location.<\/p>\n
“What you’re seeing is a sanctioned vessel providing weeks of false AIS data as it moves through the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf,” Mr Douglas said.<\/p>\n
“The vessel is almost certainly doing this to hide the loading of Iranian oil at a terminal in the Northern Persian Gulf.”<\/p>\n
Cargo in transit<\/p>\n
By February\u00a021,\u00a0Ocean\u00a0Guardian\u00a0\u2014 still claiming it was in the northern Persian Gulf\u00a0\u2014 had changed\u00a0its name to Danube.<\/p>\n
According to the International Compliance Association, sanctioned tankers change their name to avoid detection, hide ownership, or bypass restrictions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It is\u00a0not illegal,\u00a0but\u00a0can be\u00a0used to evade or delay tracing by authorities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Most tankers carry a unique number called an IMO; it’s a permanent identifier that stays with ocean vessels for their lifetime.<\/p>\n
![\"danube_overland-ezgif.com-optimize\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/93802c5158a4452e163e98f200c37106.gif\")
<\/p>\n