Most Iranian-flagged tankers are now transmitting properly over AIS without spoofing for the first time since 2018, according to analysis by , citing two different AIS data providers.
“The timing of this event makes it all the more curious after seven and a half years of wholesale AIS manipulation by the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) fleet,” Samir Madani, co-founder of , told Splash today.
“It doesn’t appear to be a remote cyber hack since, for the most part, NITC’s tankers typically switch off their AIS transponders as opposed to spoofing their locations, but it happened on the day Trump visited the Middle East following a cessation of hostilities,” Madani added.
Since returning to power, American president Donald Trump has instituted a so-called ‘maximum pressure’ campaign against Iran with repeated sweeping sanctions aimed at its oil exports.
Twice this year, a hacker group has claimed to have knocked out communications on a swathe of the Iranian merchant fleet.
The hacker group called Lab Dookhtegan, which translates as Sewn Lips, has repeatedly targeted the communications systems of both the NITC fleet as well as ships belonging to the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL).
