India, June 29 -- A majority of commercial vessels sailing to India through the Strait of Hormuz are switching off their tracking systems, apparently to reduce the risk of being targeted amid heightened tensions involving Iran, according to maritime intelligence firm Kpler.

The data shows that nearly 62 per cent of tankers and cargo vessels travelling from the Persian Gulf to India stopped transmitting their location and identity while transiting the strait, a practice known in the shipping industry as "going dark".

Most India-bound ships stopped broadcasting their location

Between May 1 and June 25, a total of 73 India-bound ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz. Of these, 45 vessels switched off their Automatic Identification Sys...