Iranian Cargo Ship Sailing Near USS Abraham Lincoln in Straits of Malacca
Data shows that an Iranian cargo ship is sailing in proximity to the U.S. carrier group led by USS Abraham Lincoln as the group makes its way west to the Persian Gulf region. Facebook poster Charlie B published the plot of a group of ships heading transiting in the Straits of Malacca off Singapore, three of which are US Navy ships making up the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) and its carrier support group (CSG). The fourth vessel is the Iranian bulk carrier Arvin (IMO 9193202).
The Arvin is a bulk carrier that left Shanghai on January 5 and is scheduled to arrive in Bandar Abbas on February 4. It is travelling with its AIS system active, at a steady speed on an expected course for this routing for apparently several days prior to the USS Abraham Lincoln being ordered to head for the Middle East region. It appears likely, therefore, that the USS Abraham Lincoln has joined this course, rather than being followed and tracked by the Arvin – although the Arvin may now be taking advantage of its position to report on the movements of the CSG. Both the CSG and the Arvin appear to be heading in the same direction, and will be visible to each other at least on radar and AIS systems.
A plot posted by @supbrow showing the Iranian cargo vessel Arvin sailing among the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group off Singapore (@supbrow)
The GT39424 Arvin is on the US Treasury OFAC sanctions list. It is subject to secondary sanctions on the basis that it is linked to the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL). It was listed by OFAC on June 8, 2020.
For the last three years, the Arvin has exclusively plied the route between China and Iran. This pattern of activity does not suggest that the Arvin has been employed full-time in an intelligence collection role, for example, as were the IRISL-associated ships MV Saviz (IMO 9167253) and MV Behshad (IMO 9167289) stationed in the Red Sea. Or the Aframax tanker Beta (IMO 9486910), which lurked off Fujairah between 2015 and 2019, looking out for commercial shipping targets. The Beta was later converted into the Iranian Navy logistic and base ship IRINS Makran (K441), and recently was in Cape Town for “Exercise Will for Peace 2026.”
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But any IRISL-associated ship, such as the Arvin, could be conscripted into performing intelligence duties should the IRGC so require, and probably as a matter of routine would report its sighting of any US naval vessels back to its ship managers in Iran, for onward coordination with the IRGC.
Top photo of IRISL bulk carrier Arvin by Cengiz Tokgöz (courtesy of VesselFinder)