Middle East Oil Tanker Dark Mode Tactics Escalate Amid Regional Tensions

Oil tanker ships in the Middle East are increasingly using 'dark mode' to transit through key chokepoints, switching off their transponders for longer periods of time.

This tactic has been observed at both the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, where Saudi-linked ships have been targeted by the Iran-aligned Houthis.

The extended use of dark mode makes it more difficult to track oil flows out of the Middle East, which in turn reduces transparency in market estimates about how much oil is being exported.