SouthernWorldwide.com – Maritime tracking transmissions experienced a collapse near the UAE’s primary oil hub, causing concern in the Persian Gulf shipping lanes just hours before President Donald Trump announced progress in bilateral peace talks with Iran, according to an AI maritime firm.
Windward AI, a maritime intelligence firm, was the first to detect the blackout in Automatic Identification System (AIS) transmissions in the vicinity of Fujairah. This suggested an escalation in electronic warfare, jamming, deliberate AIS shutdowns, and significant cyber interference near the crucial UAE oil port.
“Fujairah goes dark: AIS transmissions collapse after Iran’s PGSA announcement,” Windward stated in a post on X.
“Vessels are still in the area. They are loading less, and a meaningful number have gone dark,” the firm added.
As President Trump announced that an Iran deal was “largely negotiated” and would include the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, Fujairah proceeded to transfer 1.35 million barrels of crude oil on Sunday. This cargo was loaded onto a single tanker destined for South Korea.
“Today, May 24, the port moved 1.35 million barrels, a single VLCC, destined for South Korea,” Windward reported. The firm also noted a tense, ongoing “ceasefire posture” and the rapid establishment of a blockade footprint.
“One cargo doesn’t mark a return to baseline, but it’s the first signal of flow resuming out of Fujairah since the announcement,” Windward commented.
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Prior to this barrel transfer, Trump had indicated that Washington and Tehran had “largely finalized” a memorandum of understanding for a peace agreement. He also shared an AI-generated image depicting IRGC fast boats exploding in the strait.
Iran’s response was to reiterate its claim of absolute control over the strategic maritime choke point.
“We reaffirm that the Strait of Hormuz will remain under full Iranian administration and sovereignty, even in the event of reaching any future agreement,” stated Iran’s official military spokesperson, Ibrahim Al-Fiqar, in a message shared on X.
“The Islamic Republic emphasizes that the authorities to determine transit routes, timing, and issuance of maritime licenses are an absolute sovereign right exclusively in the hands of Tehran.”
The tanker blackout, the crude transfer activity, and the movement towards a U.S.-Iran deal gained momentum following the launch of Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) on May 20.
The PGSA, which operates under the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy, functions as a sovereign regulator. It requires ships to submit detailed information about their vessel, cargo, insurance, and crew, along with mandatory payments, in exchange for “safe passage” through the strait.
“This includes fast boats, drones, radar tracking, coastal missiles and selective intimidation rather than constant physical interdiction,” noted Vatanka.
“Tehran wants Gulf states and major importers to gradually accept Iranian oversight of Hormuz as a new geopolitical reality,” he added.
While nuclear issues have been the primary focus of current negotiations, with reports of a 60-day ceasefire, the PGSA has rapidly emerged as a tool of economic leverage that threatens global oil and shipping markets.
“Now Hormuz is Iran’s main non-nuclear leverage tool,” Vatanka stated, explaining that the PGSA provides Tehran with “a mechanism to pressure rivals, favor allies and normalize IRGC oversight of one of the world’s most critical energy routes.”
According to Vatanka, the system is functioning as a wartime extortion mechanism.
“Ships submit cargo and crew data for approval, while reports point to quiet ‘facilitation payments,’ preferential treatment for friendly states and uncertainty for everyone else,” Vatanka warned.
“Iran keeps the penalties deliberately vague. Noncompliant ships risk delays, harassment, drone surveillance, IRGC interception or denial of safe passage — enough pressure to encourage compliance without outright closing the strait.”
