More than 1,100 ships across the Middle East experienced significant navigation disruptions within a 24-hour period following the US-Israel strike on Iran on February 28, raising serious safety and cybersecurity concerns in one of the world’s busiest maritime corridors. According to maritime intelligence firm Windward, the large-scale interference affected both Global Positioning System (GPS) and Automatic Identification System (AIS) signals, creating false vessel positions and exposing ships to heightened risks of accidents, collisions, and operational confusion.

The disruption, which analysts described as resembling a major maritime cybersecurity incident, caused ships to appear in incorrect locations on digital navigation systems. In several cases, vessel signals indicated impossible positions such as inland areas, including near a nuclear power plant, inside airports, and deep within Iranian territory. These false signals complicated navigation and compliance monitoring for vessels traveling through the Persian Gulf and surrounding waters.

Windward, a maritime AI company specializing in maritime risk intelligence, identified more than 1,100 instances of GPS and AIS interference across the region within a single day. In an analysis published on March 1, the company reported discovering at least 21 new clusters of AIS signal jamming across waters belonging to the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, and Iran.

The company emphasized that the disruptions were not the result of individual vessels attempting to manipulate their own signals. Instead, the interference appeared to stem from broad jamming activities that affected all vessels operating within certain geographic areas. Such large-scale signal disruption can interfere with navigation systems used by commercial ships, tankers, and cargo vessels, making it difficult for crews to determine their exact location.

AIS and GPS technologies are critical components of modern maritime navigation. AIS allows ships to broadcast their location, speed, and identification data to nearby vessels and coastal monitoring systems, helping prevent collisions and enabling maritime authorities to track vessel movements. GPS, meanwhile,........

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