Iran seizes “floating armory” off Fujairah

Image: UKMTO

Underscoring the hazards of operations in the Strait of Hormuz region, UKMTO reports that yesterday a vessel was “taken by unauthorized personnel” while at anchor 38 nautical miles northeast of Fujairah and was headed to Iranian territorial waters. Multiple sources report the vessel is the Honduras-flagged Hui Chan, registered as a fisheries research vessel but operated as a floating armory by Chinese maritime security specialist Sinoguards.

Maritime security firms use floating armory vessels to enable armed security details to pick up or deposit weapons without running afoul of port regulations.

There’s little doubt that the “unauthorized personnel” that seized the ship were members of the IRGC Navy.

IRGC SWARMS

Windward AI reports that yesterday there were 333 IRGC speedboats active across the Strait of Hormuz concentrated in three main zones.

Movement pattern indicates a clear north-east axis push:

• North Corridor: ~122 craft — large swarm arriving from the north-east.
• Mid Strait: ~30 craft — mostly patrolling south → north.
• South: ~160 craft — massive swarm tracking north-east, feeding the push.

Clearly, despite CENTCOM efforts prior to the present shaky truce, the IRGC still has a large part of its fleet intact,

Meantime, the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports continues, with CENTCOM saying that, as of today, 75 commercial vessels have been redirected and four have been disabled to ensure compliance.