"Zombie Ship" Transiting Strait of Hormuz: Spoofed Scrapped LNG Vessel Identity, Wartime Shipping Risk Escalates

MarsBitNews · 2026-03-21T07:14:15+00:00

Reports indicate that a vessel using the identity of a scrapped natural gas carrier passed through the Strait of Hormuz on March 21, identified as the "Jamal." This marks the first instance of a "zombie ship" being used since the outbreak of conflict, highlighting shifts in maritime transit strategies amid Middle East tensions.

MarsBitNews

2026-03-21 07:14:15

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Mars Finance reports that on March 21, a vessel falsely claiming to be a decommissioned natural gas transport ship sailed out of the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, indicating that strategies for passing through the waterway are continuously evolving as the Middle East conflict progresses. Ship tracking data shows that the vessel identified as the liquefied natural gas carrier “Jamal” departed the strait on Friday morning. However, according to market participants and port agents, the same oil tanker was recorded last October at a shipbreaking yard in India, where it is currently being dismantled. The vessel claiming to be “Jamal” is likely a “zombie ship,” meaning it is impersonating a legally decommissioned vessel. This is the first known incident since the outbreak of the war involving such a method to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. (Jin10)

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