Tankers Emerge from Dark Mode amid Tentative Hormuz Reopening

A growing number of oil tankers have been broadcasting their position and intention to pass through the Strait of Hormuz in recent hours, in a sign that a tentative recovery of traffic through the chokepoint is underway. Before the U.S. and Iran signed the memorandum of understanding to negotiate a peace deal, most tankers were moving through and around the Strait of Hormuz in the so-called dark mode, with transponders and AIS positioning switched off. Once the hallmark of Iran’s sanction-evading tactics, dark mode has become mainstream in…