Deliberate AIS blackout by commercial vessels normalizing as a chokepoint-transit survival tactic under state interdiction threat

The article shows that a majority of vessels attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz during a closure event are doing so without broadcasting their position, hugging the Omani coastline to avoid Iranian detection. This is not an isolated incident but a recurrence of a pattern described as resembling 'the late-blockade baseline,' suggesting the tactic has become institutionalized among shipping operators. The structural implication is that repeated chokepoint closure events are permanently lowering the floor of maritime transparency, as operators build dark-transit protocols into standard operating procedures rather than treating them as emergency exceptions.