{
  "id": 9527311,
  "title": "Hormuz shipping mystery: Saudi oil loadings surge 'seven-fold' as tankers switch off AIS",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/24/hormuz-shipping-mystery-saudi-oil-loadings-surge-seven-fold-as",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-24T07:33:06.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Gulf News",
    "slug": "gulf-news",
    "url": "https://gulfnews.com/business/energy/hormuz-shipping-mystery-saudi-oil-loadings-surge-seven-fold-as-tankers-switch-off-ais-1.500686062"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Recent satellite imagery and shipping intelligence suggest that Saudi Arabia's crude oil shipments from eastern Gulf terminals have surged seven-fold through ship-to-ship transfers near Oman. This comes as visible tanker traffic through the strategically important Strait of Hormuz has collapsed to a fraction of normal levels, due to vessels deliberately switching off their Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponders. These transponders are responsible for broadcasting a vessel's identity, position, speed, and course to other nearby ships and coastal stations. TankerTrackers, a shipping intelligence firm, claims that most vessels carrying valuable cargo in the Middle East are keeping their AIS transponders switched off, making conventional vessel tracking increasingly unreliable. Only three commodity vessels were reported to have transited the Strait of Hormuz on a recent day, down from four the previous day and significantly below the 10-day moving average of about 15. This discrepancy between visible traffic and actual traffic highlights the importance of satellite imagery and ship-to-ship transfers in accurately tracking oil movements. Saudi Arabia has been particularly affected by the disruption to its alternative export routes, with the shutdown of the East-West Pipeline, which carries crude from the oil-producing east towards Yanbu on the Red Sea. Despite this, Saudi Aramco has been increasing shipments from its eastern Gulf terminals.",
  "summary": "The number of vessels visibly crossing the Strait of Hormuz has \"collapsed\" to a fraction of normal levels, but that does not necessarily mean oil shipments have stopped. Visible vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains far below normal, but satellite sightings suggest oil flows are much higher than ship-tracking data indicates. Shipping intelligence firm TankerTrackers.com, in a…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}