Hundreds of ships are sailing into European waters after suspicious manoeuvres near terrorist hotspots, prompting fears that they are smuggling people and weapons with impunity.

An investigation by The Times has uncovered how cargo ships and other large vessels routinely switch off GPS tracking so they can disappear, falsify their identification or veer off their usual course.

Figures compiled by Windward, a maritime data and analytics company, revealed that in January and February 40 ships entered Europe from Libya, close to where Islamic State is operating, after “going dark” by ceasing transmission of their location. Twenty vessels travelled through Syrian or Lebanese waters and made dubious stops for up to six hours before reaching the Continent. This amounts to hundreds of ships a year if