Tracking data appears to show a number of Iran-linked ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz in the hours after the U.S. blockade of the waterway began on Monday.
The U.S. military said its blockade would apply to “all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports,” but that it would “not impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports.”
One ship that crossed the strait after the blockade began on Monday – the Christianna – had previously been stopped at the Iranian port of Bandar Imam Khomeini, data shows.
Another ship, the Ladonna, had been at Bandar Imam Khomeini for a week before turning on its transponder Tuesday and journeying into the Persian Gulf.
The Murlikishan, which is under U.S. sanctions over its connections to Iran, journeyed west through the strait overnight, tracking data shows, along with another tanker, the Peace Gulf, which is not sanctioned by the U.S. but made a port call in Iran in December 2025.
The Rich Starry, a tanker that is sanctioned by the United States under a different name, sailed through the strait overnight Monday, while the Elpis, another sanctioned tanker, sailed through the strait after the blockade began, having apparently come from the Iranian port of Bushehr, according to tracking data.
CBS News cannot confirm that the ships have not been broadcasting false location reports – called spoofing – to conceal their true whereabouts.