ATHENS: Fraudulent messages promising safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for cryptocurrency have been sent to some shipping companies whose vessels are stranded west of the waterway, Greek maritime risk management company MARISKS has warned.
The United States has maintained its blockade of Iranian ports, while Iran lifted and then reimposed its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passed before war broke out in the Middle East.
Amid ceasefire talks, Tehran, which controls the bottleneck, has proposed tolls on ships to transit safely.
MARISKS on Monday issued an alert warning shipowners that unknown actors, claiming to represent Iranian authorities, had sent some shipping companies a message demanding transit fees in cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin or Tether, for “authorization.”
“These specific messages are a scam,” the company said, adding that the message was not sent by Iranian authorities.
There was no immediate comment from Tehran.
Hundreds of ships and some 20,000 sailors remain stranded in the Gulf.
On April 18, when Iran briefly opened the strait subject to controls, ships attempted to pass through, but at least two of them, including an oil tanker, reported that Iranian ships had fired at them, forcing the ships to turn around.
MARISKS believes that at least one of the ships that attempted to leave the strait on Saturday and was hit by gunfire was a victim of fraud.
Reuters was unable to verify the information or trace the companies that had received the message.
“After providing the documents and evaluating your eligibility by the Iranian security services, we will be able to determine the fee to be paid in cryptocurrencies (BTC or USDT). Only then will your ship be able to transit the strait without obstacles at the previously agreed time,” says the message cited by MARISKS.
