Ships anchored in the Gulf or transiting the Strait of Hormuz are changing their tracking data to boast links to China in an attempt to evade Iranian attacks, according to data from shipping tracker Marine Traffic analysed by Agence France-Presse.

Iran has effectively closed the vital waterway since US-Israeli strikes on it began on February 28, and at least 10 vessels have been attacked since.

But by claiming to have an “all-Chinese crew” aboard, or changing their destination to “Chinese owner”, vessels are linking themselves to Iran’s most important economic partner, Beijing.

“These appear to be precautionary signals used by ships attempting to reduce the risk of being targeted,” according to Ana Subasic, trade risk analyst at Kpler, which owns Marine Traffic.

That “does not always signal direct Chinese ownership”, she said.

On Monday, Panama-flagged cargo ship Guan Yuan Fu Xing was the latest to make it safely through the Strait of Hormuz, two days after changing its destination to “CHINA OWNER” via its AIS transponder.