Sanctioned Iran-Linked Tankers Went Dark Over Gulf of Oman Cables as the IRGC Threatened Them

Seven Cable Systems Run Through the Corridor The waters off Oman’s Batinah coast carry one of the densest concentrations of undersea cables in the region. Seven systems pass through the corridors where the three tankers operated, namely 2Africa, Bay of Bengal Gateway (BBG), Asia Africa Europe-1 (AAE-1), the Oman Australia Cable (OAC), Europe India Gateway (EIG), Transworld (TW1), and SeaMeWe-4.

Between them, these cables connect Oman, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Egypt, and Europe, with OAC running onward to Australia. Their owners include Meta, Vodafone, Orange, AT&T, Verizon, BT, China Mobile, China Telecom, Reliance Jio, Omantel, e&, and many of the region’s major telecom operators. Damage here would ripple well beyond the Gulf.

A Loop and an 86-Hour Blackout Off Sohar On October 14 and 15, CELESTIAL SEA (IMO 9397030), a U.S.-sanctioned, Iran-flagged products tanker, drifted in a loop for 4.3 hours at 0 to 1.4 knots, 0.65 nautical miles from the 2Africa corridor. On October 15, it went dark inside the 2Africa and BBG corridors off Sohar. It stayed dark for 86 hours and came back transmitting only about 9 nautical miles from where it went dark. When it reappeared on October 19, it made a U-turn above BBG and then anchored off Shinas. The tanker was in ballast throughout, according to Vortexa data.

This story was originally published by Hellenic Shipping News. Read the full story at Hellenic Shipping News →