Could a ship fly?
If not, then why are a handful lined up near a major Iranian airport?
In what oil intelligence outfit TankerTrackers.com described as "wholesale AIS spoofing", AIS data showed roughly 50 ships in the vicinity of Imam Khomeini International Airport, roughly 40 km southwest of Tehran.
The airport is over 100 km from the Caspian Sea and more than 500 km from the Middle East Gulf.
The ships include tankers, bulkers, tugs and passenger vessels.
AIS spoofing, where a ship appears to be in a location it is not, has been used by would-be sanctions evaders like Iran to export various goods under the nose of US authorities seeking to isolate and topple the country's government.
Two of the bulkers identifiable on MarineTraffic and TankerTrackers' posts — the 73,664-dwt Golafruz (built 2006) and 53,100-dwt Warta (built 2009) — are on the sanctions list of the US Department of the Treasury.
A third — the 50,145-dwt tanker Dalia (built 2018) — appears to have been sanctioned while it was under construction.
Additionally, the ownership and management interests of all three vessels are blacklisted.
All three are connected to the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL).
Emails from TradeWinds to various IRISL email addresses requesting clarification on the ships were returned undeliverable.
According to MarineTraffic, the Golafruz was heading from China to Bandar Abbas anchorage, while the Dalia was finishing a domestic voyage and the Warta leaving India for Iran.
Outside of AIS spoofing, there can be issues with AIS when there is faulty equipment or when there are too many ships in an area.
