At least 11 vessels anchored in the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf broadcast Chinese links via transponders on Friday afternoon as a defensive measure to evade a potential Iran blockade. Analysts view this as leveraging Beijing's relative neutrality in the Middle East conflict for diplomatic protection.
According to Kpler’s MarineTraffic data platform, the crews of at least 11 commercial vessels sitting in the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf had their transponders set to announce Chinese links on Friday afternoon, March 13, 2026. The vessels—flying the flags of Panama, the Marshall Islands, Kuwait and Guinea—displayed messages such as “China owner and crew” and “China cargo”.
The broadcasts were a defensive measure, said Cui Shoujun, director of the Institute of International Development Studies at Renmin University’s School of International Studies. “Foreign vessels borrowing Chinese identities primarily seek to leverage China’s ‘relative neutrality’ in geopolitics, effectively providing merchant ships with a layer of ‘diplomatic bulletproofing’,” Cui said. “The practice has evolved into a systematic risk-mitigation strategy amid the escalating Middle East conflict.”
The article notes that some Chinese-linked ships have cleared the chokepoint. Keywords include Chinese, Iranian, Middle East, Israel, Gulf of Oman, Houthis, Hormuz and Kuwait, indicating ties to broader regional tensions. Cosco Shipping Technology is listed as a related entity, though no specific details are provided.
This development highlights efforts by ships to seek protection in the current geopolitical environment, but the sources do not detail any specific incidents or Iranian actions.
