Amid a U.S. Navy blockade of Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz, some ships linked to the Islamic Republic appear to be using deceptive methods known as “spoofing” in an attempt to breach the critical channel, according to maritime intelligence experts.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees forces in the Middle East, said in a social media statement on Wednesday morning that in the two days since the blockade was established on Monday, multiple vessels have been turned around in the Strait of Hormuz.
“Yesterday, an Iranian-flagged cargo vessel tried to evade the U.S. blockade after leaving Bandar Abbas, exiting the Strait of Hormuz, and transiting along the Iranian coastline. The guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance (DDG 111) successfully redirected the vessel, which is heading back to Iran,” CENTCOM said.
“Ten vessels have now been turned around and ZERO ships have broken through since the start of the U.S. blockade on Monday,” it added.
It’s unclear if these any of these ships have been linked to spoofing.
A vessel at the Strait of Hormuz, off the coast of Oman’s Musandam province, April 12, 2026.
Reuters
Despite the blockade, ship tracking firms and analysts overnight observed the sanctioned crude oil tanker Alicia cross the Strait of Hormuz inbound, from the Gulf of Oman into the Persian Gulf, according to Michelle Wiese Bockmann, analyst with shipping analytics company Windward. Brockmann said the ship was falsely flagged, but not carrying cargo.
On Tuesday, at least three other tankers sanctioned by the U.S. appeared to successfully traverse the strait, according to MarineTraffic.
What is ‘ship spoofing?’
Some Iranian-linked ships appear to be using the method of “ship spoofing” to conceal their true identity from the U.S. blockade, experts said.
According to the Windward website, ship spoofing is the act of transmitting false information via the Automatic Identification System, requiring vessels to disclose tracking data, including the ship’s name and identification number, as well as speed, heading and course over ground.
Infographic showing U.S. warships around the Strait of Hormuz as part of a U.S. naval blockade ordered by President Donald Trump.
Anadolu via Getty Images
Clayton Seigle, a senior fellow in the Energy Security and Climate Change Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told ABC News that spoofing or manipulating the tracking system can obscure a vessel’s origins, destination and cargo.
“A ship will show it’s loading in Saudi Arabia, but it’s actually loading in Iran,” Seigle said.
How is the U.S. blockade being enforced?
ABC News is tracking 16 U.S. warships in the region, including 11 destroyers mostly positioned in the Arabian Sea, but none are inside the Persian Gulf.
U.S. officials told ABC News that the U.S. Navy will use a broad range of capabilities and equipment to enforce the blockade, which could include surface warships, reconnaissance drones, intelligence, and surveillance aircraft.
A U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer is among the assets executing a blockade mission impacting Iranian ports.
U.S. Central Command/X
The U.S. Navy is also prepared to carry out enforcement by intercepting and boarding ships. CENTCOM released a recording of them warning vessels to turn around.
“If you do not comply with this blockade, we will use force,” the warning says. “The whole of the United States Navy is ready to force compliance.”
Boarding operations would likely rely on smaller, more maneuverable assets, including rigid-hull boats and helicopters, to rapidly intercept and inspect vessels, Mark Nevitt, a former Navy judge advocate general officer and an associate professor at Emory University School of Law, told ABC News.
Ships that fail to comply with boarding demands could be met with warning shots or so-called disabling fire aimed at critical systems, including engines or navigation equipment, to stop movement, according to Nevitt.
“This is not a law enforcement action, it’s wartime action,” he said.
Other ways Iran can attempt to circumvent the blockade
Ian Ralby, a maritime and security expert, said Iran could try other methods to skirt the blockade.
“Iran has an incredible degree of resilience. It’s been under maximum pressure for many years and they’re very difficult to bully given their long-standing position of finding alternative ways of functioning,” he told ABC News.
In recent years, Iran has gained friends and allies in other parts of the world, including through its membership in the BRICS, a group of developing states established in 2009 that initially included Brazil, Russia, India and China, but has now grown to 11 countries, according to Ralby.
“That means they [Iran] have friends and allies with whom they can trade and that will support them in their economic efforts to survive,” he said.
Ralby also noted that Iran’s neighbor, Pakistan, is one of its closest friends and partners and that Iran’s northern coast is on the Caspian Sea, which offers a direct route to Russia.
“So, there are other ways of getting food and supplies and medicine and other goods in for the 93 million people that live in Iran,” Ralby said. “But there are other ways of getting oil and gas and other supplies, including other economic activities, out. And so it’s unlikely to push them towards the brink of capitulation, which has been the goal [of the U.S.] it seems since the outset.”
ABC News’ Luis Martinez, Nathan Lee, Steve Beynon, Chris Looft and Victoria Beaule contributed to this report.