Strait of Hormuz: Which ships are passing through?

Bradley Martin, senior researcher at the US defence think tank RAND Corporation, told us the ship was likely “responding to some set of directions from Iran”.

He says its path could indicate the presence of mines, or an effort by Iranian officials to make the ship easier to identify.

By forcing vessels to reroute, ships are entering Iran’s territorial waters and Tehran’s maritime rules, says Michelle Wiese Bockmann from Windward Maritime Analytics.

“My takeaway is that Iran is closing and controlling the strait by the fear of attack and also the fear of mining.

“That’s why everyone is having to go around and hug its territorial coastline instead of going through that international navigation channel,” she told BBC Verify.

Michael Connell from the US-based Center for Naval Analyses agrees that ships are taking a different route.

“They probably have some agreement in place with Iranian authorities that if they stick to a defined lane they’re safe.”