All Six Commodity Carriers Crossed Strait of Hormuz With Transponders Off on Sunday

All six commodity carriers that transited the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday did so with their transponders turned off, according to preliminary data from ship-tracking firm Kpler analyzed by Bloomberg News. Dark crossings have outnumbered observable passages over the past several days.

Ship-tracking data based on Automatic Identification System signals showed no vessels passing through the strait early on Monday.

Ships have continued to appear on opposite sides of the waterway after previously broadcasting their positions from the other side, indicating they crossed without transmitting their location. Observable traffic through the US-backed southern shipping corridor along Oman's coast has effectively stopped, with the last publicly tracked transit via that route taking place on July 8.

The northern route designated by Iran continued to record a limited number of crossings through Saturday.

Iranian forces have attacked four vessels over the past seven days, with all incidents occurring near the northeastern side of Oman's Musandam Peninsula. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Sunday it intercepted two vessels that it claimed were endangering maritime traffic by travelling along what it described as an illegal route.

Iran has stated that vessels must obtain permission from an Iranian authority before transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

US Central Command maintains that ships can still navigate the strait through open international shipping lanes. Secret crossings through the Strait of Hormuz first became widespread in mid-April, when the United Arab Emirates began transporting oil on tankers operating without active transponders.