In a bizarre development in the ongoing Middle East conflict, an oil tanker believed to have been scrapped years ago has crossed the Strait of Hormuz, marking the second such “zombie ship” sighting in recent days.

The vessel, reportedly named Nabiin, was tracked in the Persian Gulf on Sunday evening and appeared in the Gulf of Oman by Monday morning, according to ship-tracking data. Records obtained by Bloomberg News, however, show that the Aframax tanker, built in 2002, had been sent to a breaking yard in Bangladesh five years ago.

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Rise Of Zombie Tankers

Experts believe the ship is a “zombie tanker,” a vessel assuming the identity of a scrapped ship to move cargo covertly. This follows a similar case last Friday, when a tanker identifying itself as the liquefied natural gas carrier Jamal, officially recorded as beached at an Indian demolition yard, crossed the Strait.

Shipowners are going to extreme lengths in order to access the Strait of Hormuz, which has been mostly closed since hostilities in the West Asian region escalated in February of this year.

So far, vessels successfully passing the Strait appear to be linked to Iran or have received Tehran’s approval. Some ships have also switched off tracking signals to avoid detection.

Data indicates that the vessel posing as Nabiin entered the Persian Gulf hours before the outbreak of hostilities, listing Iraq’s Khor Al Zubair as its destination. While it remained in the Gulf for several days, its exact route is unclear due to electronic interference affecting tracking signals.

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After departing, the ship appeared fully loaded based on draft readings, but no destination was specified. The Equasis database lists Muhit Maritime FZE and Sagitta Maritime Co Ltd, both based in Dubai, as the vessel’s manager and owner. 

Both corporations provided shared contact information, but attempting to reach either of them via phone was unsuccessful; attempts at reaching either one through e-mail were unsuccessful as well; e-mail correspondence to both companies was returned. This case raises awareness of the rising problems concerning maritime security and vessel identification, and the current status of rising levels of tension within the Persian Gulf region.

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