Bloomberg: Zombie ship posing as LNG carrier crosses Strait of Hormuz

A ship that appears to be masquerading as a scrapped gas carrier successfully exited the Strait of Hormuz on March 20, highlighting how maritime strategies are evolving amid the ongoing war in the Middle East.

Ship-tracking data shows a vessel identifying as the liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier Jamal left the strait on the morning of March 20.

However, the same tanker was reportedly beached at an Indian demolition yard in October 2025, where it was being dismantled, according to market participants and port agents.

The vessel claiming to be Jamal is likely a “zombie” ship that assumes the identity of a scrapped, legitimate vessel. Bloomberg News noted it marks the first known instance of such a tactic being used to pass through Hormuz since the start of the conflict. Traffic in the strait has slowed to a virtual standstill as Iranian attacks and threats have transformed it into a high-risk zone.

A Bloomberg source reported, “Zombie ships have been used in the sanctioned oil trade before, but the use of one to get through Hormuz adds another category to the type of vessels that have so far managed to exit the waterway. It is also unusual for LNG carriers to be involved in such manoeuvres, as such ships are far more specialised and limited in number.”

Jamal’s doppelganger only began signalling its assumed identity last week. When it first appeared on March 13, the ship indicated Sohar in Oman as its destination while in the Gulf of Oman. It later went “dark” before re-emerging on March 20 in the Persian Gulf near Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, this time without a clear destination. Its last recorded location signal came off Iran’s southeastern coast.

“Some vessels that have exited the strait have turned off their transmission signals for security due to heightened tensions. Heavy electronic interference in the region also disrupts vessel-tracking systems and can falsify a ship’s true location,” Bloomberg noted.

Jamal’s manager is Resurgence Ship Management Pvt. in Mumbai, according to the international database Equasis. The company did not respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours. Jamal’s owner, Liner Shipping Inc., shares the same registered address as Resurgence Ship Management and could not be reached for comment.

By Aghakazim Guliyev