After China's "Iron Lady" ship, another cargo vessel has passed through the Strait of Hormuz! At least 10 commercial ships are following suit by disguising themselves as "Chinese-flagged" vessels.

As the traffic through the Strait of Hormuz drops to single digits, Chinese cargo ship “Iron Maiden” broadcasts “All of China” and successfully passes through the strait.

According to Liberation Daily, on March 5th Beijing time, the bulk carrier “Iron Maiden” (signal: “China Owner”) smoothly transited the Strait of Hormuz along the Oman coast, a rare case given the current situation.

Later, on the morning of March 7th, another Liberian-flagged bulk carrier, “Sino Ocean” (China Ocean Shipping Group), also successfully passed through the strait. When passing through the narrowest part of the waterway, the ship broadcast the signal “CHINA OWNER_ALL CREW,” becoming the second vessel after “Iron Maiden” to transit with a “Chinese shipowner” identity.

This phenomenon seems to be rapidly spreading in the commercial shipping industry. Recent media reports indicate that at least 10 ships have modified their AIS transponder “destination” signals to “Chinese shipowner,” “All Chinese crew,” or “Chinese crew onboard.” Currently, about 1,000 ships are stranded in the Gulf and surrounding waters, with an estimated value of around $25 billion.

“Iron Maiden” leads the way, followed by “Sino Ocean”

According to Liberation Daily, ShipVision data shows that “Iron Maiden” departed Zhenjiang, China, on November 15, 2025, and has since made multiple round trips between Umm Saeed Port in Qatar and Jebel Ali Port in the United Arab Emirates, transporting raw sugar and iron ore. In the second half of last year and early this year, it frequently operated in the Persian Gulf. The last time “Iron Maiden” unloaded cargo was on March 2nd in Jebel Ali, where it delivered raw sugar for Al Khaleej Sugar, a major Middle Eastern sugar producer based in Dubai.

On March 5th, “Iron Maiden” changed its transponder signal to “China All” and successfully passed along the Oman coast through the strait. Tracking data shows that the ship started heading toward the Strait of Hormuz on March 4th, and on the morning of the 5th, between 7 and 8 am, it safely transited along the southern side at Daba Port.

Following “Iron Maiden,” Liberian-flagged bulk carrier “Sino Ocean” became the second vessel to adopt the same strategy. It broadcast the “CHINA OWNER_ALL CREW” signal continuously while crossing the narrowest part of this critical global maritime energy corridor.

Yang Xintian, CEO of Xingda Shipping (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., which operates “Iron Maiden,” stated that they are currently not responding to inquiries about “Iron Maiden” and will disclose specific details to the media and the public later.

According to Liberation Daily, on March 6th, reporters visited Xingda Shipping’s office at CIFI Plaza on Zhangyang Road, Pudong, Shanghai. After contacting administrative staff, Yang Xintian reaffirmed the above stance.

At least 10 ships have altered their identities to disguise themselves as Chinese vessels to survive

Analysis based on MarineTraffic data indicates that over the past week, at least 10 ships have modified their transponder signals, claiming to be related to China. These ships vary in type, including container ships and oil tankers, some fully loaded, others empty.

Matthew Wright, an analyst at shipping data company Kpler, said, “They can almost change anything—whatever they want to fill in. Crew members are trying to hide their association with certain ports, destinations, or nationalities,** which involves some deception.**”

He pointed out that this kind of identity disguise to evade risks is not new, dating back to the Houthi attacks on merchant ships during the Red Sea tensions in 2023.

Additionally, last Saturday, a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) vessel “Bogazici” broadcast itself as “Muslim all, operated by Turkey” during transit, and only reverted to its original name after leaving dangerous waters.

“Iron Maiden” remains an exception; many ships are waiting and watching

Although “Iron Maiden” successfully passed the strait, reports from Liberation Daily on March 7th afternoon indicate that this remains an isolated case, with no additional Chinese ships following its example.

The Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) reported on March 6th that only two confirmed commercial voyages occurred in the past 24 hours through the Strait of Hormuz, both by cargo ships, not oil tankers, with traffic volume dropping to single digits.

According to Lloyd’s Market Association, about 1,000 ships worth approximately $25 billion are still stranded in the Gulf and surrounding waters, most of which are waiting and observing.

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