Global oil route risk? 50% ships in Strait of Hormuz missing from data

Mumbai: When the world was watching satellite imagery to track global energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz, Citrini Research, a US-based investment research firm, took a journalistic approach, deploying an on-the-ground agent.

The agent, Analyst #3, a multilingual specialist, navigated the Strait of Hormuz -a key artery for global energy shipments - to report that as much as 50% of actual vessel traffic through the strait may be missing from standard tracking systems on any given day.

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Citrini Research found that while most market participants rely heavily on Automatic Identification System (AIS) data-he maritime tracking system fora vessel's position-may present an incomplete picture. This implies that the models used for forecasting global energy supply and macroeconomic trends may be relying on incomplete information.

"The fund estimates that as much as 50% of actual vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz could be missing from standard monitoring systems on any given day," said XTB Group, a brokerage on its website, citing Citrini's Research. It added that a growing number of vessels are obscuring their movements by disabling AIS transponders and submitting misleading identification details to escape traceability.

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2 MORE LPG CARRIERS

Two Indian-flagged liquefied petroleum gas carriers-Green Sanvi and Green Asha-have crossed the Strait of Hormuz over the past two days and are expected to reach Indian ports on Tuesday and Thursday.