Brown : From a commercial standpoint, as well as for the safety of the crew, the Strait of Hormuz is currently too risky for legitimate shipowners to cross

On Friday, a U.S.-sanctioned tanker blacklisted for handling Iranian liquefied petroleum gas crossed the Strait of Hormuz, becoming one of only a handful of vessels to make it through the waterway in recent days.

According to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg, the Danuta I, (IMO 9193721, MMSI 511101556 -  sailing under the flag of Palau) a gas supertanker, transited the strait in the early hours of Friday morning local time. The ship had picked up a cargo within the Persian Gulf, as evidenced by an increase in draft.

Image source : Bloomberg

While sailing  through the gulf : Signal jamming

While sailing  through the gulf and later through the strait, the very-large gas carrier's signaling pattern was inconsistent and haphazard, suggesting that it had turned off its transponders or was issuing inaccurate positioning signals to hide its path. Signal jamming (Signal jamming is the deliberate, often illegal, interference with radio communications (GPS, cellular, Wi-Fi, AIS) by overpowering legitimate signals with noise or disruptive, low-power signals. It is used to block emergency calls, disrupt navigation, and steal vehicles. Such actions are federal offenses, with penalties including fines and imprisonment)  which is rampant in the region, may have contributed to this behavio

The Strait of Hormuz is currently too risky for legitimate shipowners

"From a commercial standpoint, as well as for the safety of the crew, the Strait of Hormuz is currently too risky for legitimate shipowners to cross, which explains why dozens of tankers are stuck waiting in the Gulf, unable to exit," said Charlie Brown, an advisor to United Against Nuclear Iran,( UANI ) a U.S. lobby and pressure group focused on Tehran.

The tankers, full of oil, sail from the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Malacca to the Riau archipelago. There, they transfer the crude to ships bound for China, which buys 90% of Iran's oil.

Building of the gas carrier 

The gas carrier, built in 2000 and sanctioned last month, is a prolific shipper of Iranian liquefied petroleum gas. It has been part of Iran’s shadow fleet since sanctions on the Islamic Republic were reimposed during the first Trump administration. If the vessel is loaded as indicated by its draft, it is carrying approximately 44,000 tons of refrigerated liquefied propane and butane.

Although propane and butane are shipped in liquefied form, they quickly evaporate if they become airborne. At that point, they are extremely flammable and pose a risk of catastrophic explosion.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard 

The operator may have calculated that, given Danuta I’s ties to Iran’s energy exports, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps would not target it. However, at least two shadow fleet vessels have been hit since the war broke out on Saturday, including a tanker that was sanctioned by the U.S. for its ties to Iran.

Another VLGC. 

Another VLGC, understood by Lloyd's List to be part of the same fleet as Danuta I, passed the Strait of Hormuz on March 1, also loaded with Iran-origin LPG, which it received via ship-to-ship transfer from Danuta I in late February, according to data from Lloyd's List Intelligence and Vortexa. These are the only two LPG carriers to have crossed the strait eastward with AIS on, according to the data. It was not immediately clear how many gas carriers had transited the strait with AIS off, if any 

 The GAFUS 

On Thursday, another sanctioned Very Large Gas Carrier (VLGC), the GAFUS (IMO: 9208239), was seen departing the Gulf of Oman with a southbound draft indicating that it was laden. However, its AIS data shows that it has been anchored off the coast of Oman since before the war began. These positions appear to be spoofed, suggesting that GAFUS may have loaded cargo in the Persian Gulf and transited through the Strait of Hormuz in recent days.

Notably, in February, approximately one-third of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carrier transits through the Strait of Hormuz were by shadow fleet vessels. As in other sectors, gas carrier transits through the strait plummeted after war broke out on February 28.

Related : At least two Italian-flagged ships near the Strait of Hormuz

Source : Agencies

#, the GAFUS # Strait of Hormuz # Danuta I#U.S.-sanctioned #(Signal jamming #Charlie Brown #Vortexa. #Lloyd's List #Bloomberg #A gas tanker