GPS Disruption Reported In World’s Most Critical Maritime Chokepoint..

A new report has emerged stating that vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz are experiencing GPS interference, disrupting electronic navigation systems and forcing commercial ships to rely on manual or backup methods in one of the world’s most critical maritime chokepoints…

UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) announced on X late Sunday morning that it has “received reports from vessels experiencing GPS interference in the Strait of Hormuz area, with disruptions lasting several hours, affecting navigation systems and requiring vessels to rely on backup methods.”

UKMTO provided no further information on the source of the GPS interference. However, if it was caused by a foreign adversary such as Iran, GPS interference in the critical maritime chokepoint would be considered a form of hybrid warfare, GPS interference or spoofing falls into the domain of non-kinetic warfare—it doesn’t involve firing weapons but can degrade vessel operations in the strait.

The incident occurred after Iran’s president and the US agreed to continued nuclear talks on Saturday, “We are negotiating, and we will negotiate, we are not after war but we do not fear any threat,” President Masoud Pezeshkian said during a speech to the military broadcasted on state television.

The issue with GPS disruptions in the strait is that it’s considered an energy superhighway for the global economy. About 20% of global oil (and about 30% of seaborne-traded oil) passes through the narrow stretch of water (approximately 17 to 20 million barrels of oil per day) that connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.