The Strait of Hormuz, a sea passage between Iran and Oman, is currently facing a massive digital blackout as sophisticated GPS jamming creates a chaotic tanker jam in one of the world’s most vital oil chokepoints.
Following joint US and Israeli military strikes on Iran under Operation Epic Fury on February 28, the region has transformed into an electronic battlefield.
While the waterway typically handles 20 per cent of the global oil supply, ship traffic has plummeted as vessels struggle to navigate through a dense fog of spoofed signals.
Captains report that their navigation systems are showing false positions, making it look as though massive tankers are sailing over dry land or are anchored at international airports.
WHY IS THERE A HUGE TANKER JAM IN THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ?
To understand this chaos, we must look at how ships find their way using satellite signals. They rely on the Global Positioning System (GPS) for location and the Automatic Identification System (AIS) to signal their position to others.
In the Strait of Hormuz, these signals are being attacked in two ways.
First is jamming, where a ground station blasts out high-power radio noise that drowns out the weak signals from satellites, like a loud siren masking a whisper.
Second is spoofing, which is more deceptive. Instead of blocking satellite signals, it sends fake coordinates that look legitimate to the ship’s computer.
According to data from the maritime tracking firm Kpler, the digital footprints or tracks that ships leave on a map suddenly fanned out in erratic patterns on February 28.
These tracks, which usually look like smooth, straight lines, began jumping wildly as navigation receivers were overwhelmed by synthetic signals.
WHICH TECHNOLOGY IS IRAN USING FOR ELECTRONIC DEFENCE?
Iranian forces are using indigenous electronic warfare systems to create an invisible shield over the Persian Gulf.
The Iranian military has deployed the Cobra V8 and Sayyad-4 systems near Bandar Abbas.
The Cobra V8 is a truck-based platform designed to intercept and jam airborne radar and satellite signals within a 250-kilometre range.
While the Sayyad-4 is primarily known as a missile system, its specialised radar components are being used in a non-kinetic role to disrupt foreign navigation signals.
International maritime security analysts say that the goal is to blind the high-tech sensors and AI-driven guidance systems used by foreign forces during Operation Epic Fury.
While this technology is intended to hide warships and confuse incoming missiles, it has created a massive electronic blackout.
Over 1,100 civilian tankers are now caught in this digital fog, making the narrow 33-km-wide strait nearly impossible to navigate safely.
HOW DOES THIS BLACKOUT AFFECT SHIP SAFETY?
Satellite navigation failures in crowded waters increase the risk of maritime collisions exponentially. Large tankers carrying millions of barrels of crude oil cannot stop or turn quickly.
Without reliable data, crews must rely on manual radar and visual bearings, which significantly slows down global energy flows. This digital blockade is already having a real-world impact on seafarers.
The tanker Skylight was struck near Oman on March 1, leading to the evacuation of its 20-member crew, which included 15 Indian nationals.
As modern shipping remains almost entirely dependent on electronic data, this crisis highlights how invisible radio waves can be used to hold the global economy hostage.
