Zombie Ships Emerge at Hormuz: Vessel Identity Spoofing Marks New Sanctions Evasion Tactic

For the first time since Iran-Israel conflict escalated, a zombie ship has transited the Strait of Hormuz.

Ship-tracking data shows a vessel calling itself Jamal exited the critical waterway on March 20. The problem: the real Jamal, an LNG carrier, was scrapped at an Indian demolition yard in October 2025. The transiting vessel was operating under a false identity, making it a so-called zombie ship, according to Bloomberg reporting.

What This Means for Maritime Sanctions Enforcement

Zombie ships are ageing tankers that assume the identities of defunct, legitimate vessels, allowing them to evade detection and sanctions screens. The tactic is not new in sanctioned energy trade—Russian and Venezuelan actors have used it extensively. But the application to LNG trade at Hormuz is unprecedented.

Why It Matters Now

The emergence of zombie ships in the world's most congested energy chokepoint signals an escalation in maritime deception. Sanctions evasion is becoming more sophisticated. Traditional AIS screening, insurance checks, and flag-state verification are no longer sufficient. Bad actors are exploiting the limited universe of LNG vessels—there are only hundreds globally, making vessel identity spoofing a more viable tactic than in the tanker market, where thousands of ships exist.

The Jamal's behavior was a textbook evasion signature: it appeared on tracking systems March 13, went dark for days by switching off its transponder, re-emerged near the UAE with no declared destination, and vanished near Iran's southeastern coast. These are the same patterns used by Russian shadow fleet tankers evading oil-export controls.

Enforcement Implications

This development exposes a gap in maritime compliance infrastructure. P&I clubs, insurers, and customs authorities rely on vessel registries, classification society records, and AIS data. A sophisticated bad actor can forge documentation and spoof identity using breached registry databases or flag-state corruption.

France, Sweden, and Denmark are moving aggressively: they've detained multiple shadow fleet tankers in the last month, including the Deyna in the Mediterranean on March 20, which was sailing under a false Mozambique flag while actually flagged to Tonga. But enforcement is reactive. The Hormuz zombie ship proves tactics are outpacing detection.

What Comes Next

Expect increasing use of zombie ships as conventional dark-fleet vessels age out and P&I insurance coverage tightens for openly sanctioned operators. The conflict is incentivizing rapid innovation in evasion. Banks, maritime authorities, and trade finance institutions will need to implement real-time vessel provenance verification—cross-checking multiple data sources against biometric vessel signatures (hull paint, structural patterns, AIS heartbeat anomalies).

For now, the Hormuz passage highlights a hard truth: a vessel's name on a tracking screen is no longer proof of its identity.