Electronic interference with commercial ship navigation systems remains consistent in the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf, but a new higher concentration has emerged in the Persian Gulf.
This comes from a recent report by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), a voluntary reporting scheme (VRS) for the Indian Ocean, specifically Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Arabian Sea, which covers the period from 25 September to 2nd October.
UKMTO has received a number of direct reports of GPS interference in this period, as per Electronic Interference Heatmap map, showing date range from 25th September to 2nd October. The concentrations in the Red Sea remain consistent, UKMTO says, particularly in the broad vicinity of Port Sudan.
According to UKMTO’s report on October 3, new low-levels of concentration have been observed around Jizan for the first time. In the Arabian Gulf, concentrations also remain consistent, but a new, higher concentration has emerged around Port of Assaluyeh, Iran.
Meanwhile, UKMTO notes that the concentrations of Electronic Interference around Yanbu, Jeddah and Port Sudan in the Red Sea, as well as around Fujairah appear to have decreased slightly, but still noticeable.
“It should still be noted that there was a low-level of direct reports from vessels over this week,” UKMTO said in its report on October 3.
UKMTO encourages all vessels to report to them any experience of electronic interference.
