GPS Jamming rises 55% in a Week in the Middle East Gulf

TEL AVIV (ISRAEL): GPS jamming affected more than 1,650 ships in the Middle East Gulf on March 7, up 55% from the previous week, erroneously placing vessels across land and sea in Kuwait, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates.

Electronic interference with ships’ Automatic Identification Systems was already endemic in the region before the launch of Operation Epic Fury. Nearly 1,100 ships were impacted within 24 hours after the U.S. attacked Iran on February 28. That number has now risen to more than 1,650.

Windward has identified at least 30 clusters where ships’ AIS are being jammed, including across the Gulf of Oman, and areas on land and sea within the Middle East Gulf, especially near areas where port and facility infrastructure has been attacked or near military areas.

A week ago, clusters were mainly crop circle-like patterns, but have since evolved into zig-zag type lines, with ships’ signals thrown across multiple locations within a 24-hour period. There was mass AIS interference at the bunkering hub of Fujairah, from where ships have since dispersed after fuel tanks were attacked on March 3, and amid warnings that congested areas carry greater risks of attack.

GPS jamming is concentrating ships’ AIS into clusters of several hundred vessels off the Gulf of Oman.

Source: WINDWARD