Iranian Tankers Resume Normal AIS Signals After Years

For the first time since 2018, most Iranian-flagged tankers are transmitting accurate locations via the Automatic Identification System (AIS), rather than using spoofed data, according to analysis by TankerTrackers.com, which referenced information from two separate AIS data sources.

“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,” said Samir Madani, co-founder of TankerTrackers.com, in a statement today.

Madani noted that the incident doesn’t seem to be the result of a remote cyberattack. “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,” he added.

Since returning to office, US President Donald Trump has reinstated his ‘maximum pressure’ policy toward Iran, reimposing extensive sanctions designed to curb the nation’s oil exports.

Earlier this year, a hacker collective known as Lab Dookhtegan - which translates to “Sewn Lips” - claimed responsibility for disabling communications across parts of Iran’s merchant fleet on two separate occasions. The group has repeatedly targeted systems belonging to both the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) and the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL).