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Container ship seized by Iran's Revolutionary Guard near Strait of Hormuz amid tensions with Israel

Updated on: April 13, 2024 / 11:48 PM EDT / AP

Commandos from Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard rappelled down from a helicopter onto an Israeli-affiliated container ship near the Strait of Hormuz and seized the vessel Saturday, the latest in a series of attacks between the two countries.

Iran's state-run IRNA said a special forces unit of the Guard's navy carried out the attack on the vessel, which other media in the country widely identified as the Portuguese-flagged MSC Aries, a container ship associated with London-based Zodiac Maritime.

The seizure came hours before Iran launched dozens of drones and missiles at Israel in retaliation over an Israeli strike earlier this month on an Iranian consular building in Syria that killed 12 people, including a senior Guard general who once commanded its expeditionary Quds Force there.

The Israeli war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip meanwhile is now 6 months old and is inflaming decades-old tensions across the whole region. With Iranian-backed forces like Hezbollah in Lebanon and Yemen's Houthi rebels also involved in the fighting, any new attack in the Mideast threatens to escalate that conflict into a wider regional war.

Zodiac Maritime is part of Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer's Zodiac Group. Zodiac declined to comment and referred questions to MSC, which did not immediately respond.

Earlier, a Middle East defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, shared a video of the attack with The Associated Press. In it, the Iranian commandos are seen rappelling down onto a stack of containers sitting on the deck of the vessel.

A crew member on the ship can be heard saying: "Don't come out." He then tells his colleagues to go to the ship's bridge as more commandos come down on the deck. One commando can be seen kneeling above the others to provide them potential cover fire.

The video corresponded with known details of the MSC Aries. The helicopter used also appeared to be a Soviet-era Mil Mi-17 helicopter, which both the Guard and the Iranian-backed Houthis of Yemen have used in the past to conduct commando raids on ships.

The British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations described the vessel as being "seized by regional authorities" in the Gulf of Oman off the Emirati port city of Fujairah, without elaborating.

The MSC Aries had been last located off Dubai heading toward the Strait of Hormuz on Friday. The ship had turned off its tracking data, which has been common for Israeli-affiliated ships moving through the region.

Iran since 2019 has engaged in a series of ship seizures and attacks on vessels have been attributed to it amid ongoing tensions with the West over its rapidly advancing nuclear program.

In previous seizures, Iran has offered initial explanations about their operations to make it seem like the attacks had nothing to do with the wider geopolitical tensions — though later acknowledging as much. In Saturday's attack, however, Iran telling offered no explanation for the seizure other than to say the MSC Aries had links to Israel.

For days, Iranian officials up to and including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have been threatening to "slap" Israel for the Syria strike. Western governments have issued warnings to their citizens in the region to be prepared for attacks.

However, Iran in the past largely has avoided directly attacking Israel, despite it carrying out the targeted killing of nuclear scientists and multiple sabotage campaigns against Iran's atomic sites. Iran has however targeted Israeli or Jewish-linked sites through proxy forces over the decades.

Earlier this week, Guard Gen. Ali Reza Tangsiri, who oversees its naval forces, criticized the presence of Israelis in the region and in the United Arab Emirates. The UAE reached a diplomatic recognition deal with Israel in 2020, something that long has enraged Tehran.

"We know that bringing Zionists in this point is not merely for economic work," Tangsiri reportedly said. "Now, they are carrying out security and military jobs, indeed. This is a threat, and this should not happen."

The U.S., Israel's main backer, has stood by the country despite growing concerns over Israel's war on Gaza killing more than 33,600 Palestinians and wounding over 76,200 more. Israel's war began after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw some 250 others taken hostage.

On Friday, President Joe Biden warned Iran not to attack Israel and said he felt an Iranian attack on Israel likely would happen "sooner than later."

"We will help defend Israel, and Iran will not succeed," Biden added.

The Gulf of Oman is near the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all globally traded oil passes. Fujairah, on the United Arab Emirates' eastern coast, is a main port in the region for ships to take on new oil cargo, pick up supplies or trade out crew.

Since 2019, the waters off Fujairah have seen a series of explosions and hijackings. The U.S. Navy blamed Iran for limpet mine attacks on vessels that damaged tankers. The UAE meanwhile has sought to mend ties with Iran and issued a statement condemning the suspected Israeli attack in Syria.

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Iran's Seizure of MSC Ship Could Bring Rise in ‘War-Risk' Premiums

Container vessels traversing waters near the Middle East may have more potential concerns on their hands after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized a Portuguese-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman Saturday.

The Israel-linked MSC Aries was detained for "violating maritime laws," Iran's Foreign Ministry said on Monday. Video footage provided to The Associated Press showed paramilitary forces raiding the ship of 25 crew members via helicopter.

MSC leases the Aries from Gortal Shipping, an affiliate of Zodiac Maritime. Zodiac is partly owned by Israeli businessman Eyal Ofer. The 14,300 20-foot equivalent unit (TEU) ship was carrying shipments totaling over 3,600 TEUs and a cargo value exceeding $174 million, according to data from container tracking platform Vizion.

Sourcing Journal reached out to Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) . MSC had previously said it was working "with the relevant authorities" for its safe return and the wellbeing of its crew.

The seizure, which occurred near the Strait of Hormuz, spells trouble in two separate trade chokepoints on both sides of the Arabian Peninsula.

On the western side of the peninsula, container ships have been rerouting away from the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait for months amid the heightened attacks from Yemen-based Houthi militants-preventing most container trade from entering the Red Sea and transiting the Suez Canal.

And on the eastern side, the Strait of Hormuz flows into the Persian Gulf, with roughly one-fifth of the world's daily oil supply passing through, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

According to International Monetary Fund (IMF) PortWatch, 34,000 ships transit the Strait of Hormuz annually, 62 percent of which are oil tankers. Another 15 percent are container ships.

The helicopter had boarded the MSC Aries 50 nautical miles northeast of Fujairah, U.A.E., and has since been transferred closer to Iranian waters near the city of Bandar Abbas.

Peter Sand, chief analyst at ocean freight and air freight benchmarking platform Xeneta, said that the targeted nature of the attack on Israeli interests, rather than as a random hijacking, may limit the likelihood of repeat instances.

"There would be far more concern in the industry if this was the start of sustained and indiscriminate attacks, but that doesn't appear to be the case and container ships are continuing to sail through the Strait of Hormuz," Sand said. "Unless the situation deteriorates further, the seizure of MSC Aries is unlikely to result in the kind of supply chain disruption we have witnessed recently in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden where almost any ship is at risk of attack by Houthi militia ."

That's not to say shipping firms shouldn't be concerned at all, with Sand pointing out that the Saturday seizure represents another example of nation states attempting to weaponize international supply chains.

One area that could see an impact is ocean freight rates, he said. Freight rates saw a brief spike in December and January due to the continued avoidance of the Red Sea, but have lowered again in the two months since.

"Whenever there is uncertainty in the market there is the potential for ocean freight shipping rates to increase, as we have seen most recently following the escalation of conflict in the Red Sea," said Sand. "However, oil prices have not spiked as some feared they may do, and ships are seemingly sailing through the Strait of Hormuz without issues, so any direct impact on rates may be limited."

Container trading and leasing platform Container XChange said the situation remains fluid, with potential shifts dependent on Israel's response. But the company is prepping for higher freight rates due to the seizure, with CEO and co-founder Christian Roeloffs cautioning in a customer advisory that "war-risk" insurance premiums will increase, leading to heightened volatility in shipping markets.

"The Strait of Hormuz's strategic importance, coupled with its role as a key transit point for maritime traffic, emphasizes the significance of this latest escalation. We anticipate that freight rates may rise in response to the increased tension and uncertainty," Roeloffs said. "Furthermore, while the possibility of diversions around the region, potentially impacting hubs like [Dubai's] Jebel Ali, exists, we believe it's unlikely given the hub's importance in global shipping networks."

The International Chamber of Shipping condemned the move, calling for the immediate release of the seafarers and the ship.

"Iran's seizure of the MSC Aries is a flagrant breach of international law and an assault on freedom of navigation," said Guy Platten, secretary general of the International Chamber of Shipping in a statement. "This reprehensible attack against a merchant ship once again places innocent seafarers on the front lines of geopolitical conflict. Our thoughts are with the 25 seafarers who are now captives of Iran, and with the families who are now in fear of their loved ones' safety. Iran must release the ship as a matter of urgency."

According to the trade association, ships transiting the region should conduct a thorough threat assessment and liaise closely with military forces to ensure they are fully protected against further possible aggression by Iranian forces.

On the same day of the seizure, Iran launched nearly 350 attack drones and missiles against Israel. Most of the drones and missiles were intercepted outside of Israeli airspace by Israeli, U.S., British, French, Jordanian and Saudi forces, officials said. Iranian officials said the move was in retaliation for an April 1 Israeli airstrike on its consulate in Syria that killed a top Iranian general and others.

More from Sourcing Journal

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• Panama Canal Targets Return to Normalcy by 2025...If Rain Keeps Up
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• Mining & Minerals
• Pharmaceuticals
• Pulp, Paper & Forestry Products
• Fostering Inclusive Trade
• Addressing Social Challenges
• Partnerships
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https://www.msccargo.cn/en/track-a-shipment

1 Bill of Lading found

• Container Number Bill of Lading: ( Container 1">Containers )
• Shipped From
• Port of Load ( )
• Port of Discharge ( )
• Transhipment
• Price Calculation Date*
• SMDG code FIRMS code

If you have any questions regarding the results of your shipment tracking results, please contact your local MSC team at the number below. By using the shipment tracking service you agree to the terms of use  of msc.com.

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Iran launches drone attack at Israel, expected to unfold 'over hours'

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South Koreans still seek answers 10 years after Sewol ferry disaster

South Korea remembered the 304 people, most of them school children, who died on the Sewol ferry on the 10th anniversary of its sinking on Tuesday, with families calling for a proper apology for the unnecessary deaths of their loved ones.

South Korea's foreign ministry summoned a Japanese diplomat on Tuesday to protest against a claim in Japan's annual diplomatic policy Bluebook on a group of islands at the centre of a longstanding territorial dispute, a ministry spokesman said.

Iranian forces take over Israel-linked Portuguese ship MCS ARIES

This event comes amid threats of an iranian attack against israel, as israel has been on a high state of alert since late thursday night..

UKMTO reports incident 

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Seizes Container Ship Near Strait of Hormuz Amid Tensions With Israel

(DUBAI, United Arab Emirates) — Commandos from Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard rappelled down from a helicopter onto an Israeli-affiliated container ship near the Strait of Hormuz and seized the vessel Saturday, the latest in a series of attacks between the two countries.

The Middle East had braced for potential Iranian retaliation over a suspected Israeli strike earlier this month on an Iranian consular building in Syria that killed 12 people, including a senior Guard general who once commanded its expeditionary Quds Force there.

The Israeli war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip meanwhile is now 6 months old and is inflaming decades-old tensions across the whole region. With Iranian-backed forces like Hezbollah in Lebanon and Yemen's Houthi rebels also involved in the fighting, any new attack in the Mideast threatens to escalate that conflict into a wider regional war.

Iran's state-run IRNA said a special forces unit of the Guard's navy carried out the attack on the vessel, the Portuguese-flagged MSC Aries, a container ship associated with London-based Zodiac Maritime.

Zodiac Maritime is part of Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer’s Zodiac Group. Zodiac declined to comment and referred questions to MSC. Geneva-based MSC later acknowledged the seizure and said 25 crew had been aboard the vessel. IRNA said the Guard would take the vessel into Iranian territorial waters.

Earlier, a Middle East defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, shared a video of the attack with The Associated Press. In it, the Iranian commandos are seen rappelling down onto a stack of containers sitting on the deck of the vessel.

A crew member on the ship can be heard saying: “Don’t come out.” He then tells his colleagues to go to the ship’s bridge as more commandos come down on the deck. One commando can be seen kneeling above the others to provide them potential cover fire.

The video corresponded with known details of the MSC Aries. The helicopter used also appeared to be a Soviet-era Mil Mi-17 helicopter, which both the Guard and the Iranian-backed Houthis of Yemen have used in the past to conduct commando raids on ships.

The British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations described the vessel as being “seized by regional authorities” in the Gulf of Oman off the Emirati port city of Fujairah, without elaborating.

The MSC Aries had been last located off Dubai heading toward the Strait of Hormuz on Friday. The ship had turned off its tracking data, which has been common for Israeli-affiliated ships moving through the region.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz called on nations to list the Guard as a terrorist organization.

Iran “is a criminal regime that supports Hamas’ crimes and is now conducting a pirate operation in violation of international law,” Katz said.

Iran since 2019 has engaged in a series of ship seizures and attacks on vessels have been attributed to it amid ongoing tensions with the West over its rapidly advancing nuclear program.

Since November, Iran had dialed back its ship attacks as the Houthis targeted ships in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. Houthi attacks have slowed in recent weeks as the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan ended and the rebels have faced months of U.S.-led airstrikes targeting them.

In previous seizures, Iran has offered initial explanations about their operations to make it seem like the attacks had nothing to do with the wider geopolitical tensions — though later acknowledging as much. In Saturday's attack, however, Iran telling offered no explanation for the seizure other than to say the MSC Aries had links to Israel.

For days, Iranian officials up to and including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have been threatening to “slap” Israel for the Syria strike. Western governments have issued warnings to their citizens in the region to be prepared for attacks.

However, Iran in the past largely has avoided directly attacking Israel, despite it carrying out the targeted killing of nuclear scientists and multiple sabotage campaigns against Iran's atomic sites. Iran has however targeted Israeli or Jewish-linked sites through proxy forces over the decades.

Earlier this week, Guard Gen. Ali Reza Tangsiri, who oversees its naval forces, criticized the presence of Israelis in the region and in the United Arab Emirates. The UAE reached a diplomatic recognition deal with Israel in 2020, something that long has enraged Tehran.

“We know that bringing Zionists in this point is not merely for economic work," Tangsiri reportedly said. "Now, they are carrying out security and military jobs, indeed. This is a threat, and this should not happen.”

The U.S., Israel's main backer, has stood by the country despite growing concerns over Israel's war on Gaza killing more than 33,600 Palestinians and wounding over 76,200 more. Israel's war began after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw some 250 others taken hostage.

On Friday, President Joe Biden warned Iran not to attack Israel and said he felt an Iranian attack on Israel likely would happen "sooner than later.”

“We will help defend Israel, and Iran will not succeed,” Biden added.

The Gulf of Oman is near the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all globally traded oil passes. Fujairah, on the United Arab Emirates’ eastern coast, is a main port in the region for ships to take on new oil cargo, pick up supplies or trade out crew.

Since 2019, the waters off Fujairah have seen a series of explosions and hijackings. The U.S. Navy blamed Iran for limpet mine attacks on vessels that damaged tankers. The UAE meanwhile has sought to mend ties with Iran and issued a statement condemning the suspected Israeli attack in Syria.

Meanwhile, Lufthansa Group said on Saturday it had extended the suspension of its flights between Frankfurt and Tehran though Thursday and said that all of its planes would avoid Iranian airspace in that period. The German carrier also said that, until at least Tuesday, flights to and from Amman will be operated as “day flights” so crews can return to Frankfurt without spending a night in the Jordanian capital.

Dutch airline KLM said in a statement Saturday that it will no longer fly over Iran or Israel, but will continue flights to and from Tel Aviv, a destination not currently deemed risky. “Safety has the highest priority,” KLM said.

Associated Press writers Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, Stephen Graham in Berlin and Thomas Adamson in Paris contributed to this report.

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Container Ship, IMO 9839466

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The current position of MSC MIA is at West Mediterranean reported 2 mins ago by AIS. The vessel arrived at the port of Valencia, Spain on Apr 14, 20:42 UTC. The vessel MSC MIA (IMO 9839466, MMSI 355798000) is a Container Ship built in 2019 (5 years old) and currently sailing under the flag of Panama .

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Map position & weather, recent port calls, vessel utilization, vessel particulars, similar vessels, related news.

MSC MIA current position and history of port calls are received by AIS. Technical specifications, tonnages and management details are derived from VesselFinder database. The data is for informational purposes only and VesselFinder is not responsible for the accuracy and reliability of MSC MIA data.

Sirens, explosions heard over Israel as Iran launches retaliatory air attacks

Iran's revolutionary guard says barrage targets 'occupied territories' in israel.

Explosions, sirens above Jerusalem as Iran launches air attack

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Booms and air raid sirens sounded across Israel early Sunday after Iran launched dozens of drones and ballistic missiles toward Israel in a retaliatory barrage that pushed the Middle East ever closer to a region-wide war.

The Israeli military's spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said Iran fired scores of drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles — with the vast majority intercepted outside Israel's borders. He said warplanes intercepted more than 10 cruise missiles alone, also outside Israeli airspace.

Hagari said a handful of missiles landed in Israel. Rescuers said a seven-year-old girl in a Bedouin Arab town was seriously wounded in southern Israel, apparently in a missile strike, though they said police were still investigating the circumstances of her injuries. Hagari said a missile struck an army base, causing light damage but no injuries.

"A wide-scale attack by Iran is a major escalation," he said. Asked whether Israel would respond, Hagari said only that the army "does and will do whatever is required to protect the security of the state of Israel." He said the incident was not over, and dozens of Israeli warplanes remained in the skies.

Explosions in Israeli skies as sirens blare during Iranian attack

U.S. forces downed some of the Iran-launched drones flying toward Israel, a U.S. defence official and two U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter, told The Associated Press. Israel's military said its Arrow system, which shoots down ballistic missiles outside the atmosphere, handled most interceptions and noted that "strategic partners" were involved.

Air raid sirens were reported in numerous places, including northern Israel, southern Israel, the northern West Bank and the Dead Sea near the Jordanian border.

Retaliation for embassy strike

In a statement carried late Saturday by Iran's state-run IRNA news agency, the country's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard Corps acknowledged launching "dozens of drones and missiles towards the occupied territories and positions of the Zionist regime."

Tehran had vowed revenge since an April 1 airstrike in Syria killed two Iranian generals inside an Iranian consular building. Iran accused Israel of being behind the attack, but Israel hasn't commented on it.

"Should the Israeli regime make another mistake, Iran's response will be considerably more severe," the Iranian mission to the United Nations said of Saturday's barrage, warning the United States to "stay away." However, it also said Iran now "deemed the matter concluded."

Israel and Iran have been on a collision course throughout Israel's six-month war against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. The war erupted after Hamas and Islamic Jihad, two militant groups backed by Iran, carried out a cross-border attack on Oct. 7 that killed 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 250 others, according to Israeli tallies.

An Israeli offensive in Hamas-controlled Gaza has caused widespread devastation and killed more than 33,000 people, according to local health officials.

Almost immediately after the war erupted, Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militant group in Lebanon, began attacking Israel's northern border. The two sides have been involved in daily exchanges of fire, while Iranian-backed groups in Iraq, Syria and Yemen have launched rockets and missiles toward Israel.

In a letter to the United Nations early Sunday, Israeli Ambassador Gilad Erdan requested an immediate meeting of the Security Council to condemn Iran's actions and to designate the Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization.

"The time has come for the Security Council to take concrete action against the Iranian threat," Erdan wrote.

West denounces Tehran

Condemnation from Western countries was swift.

"Canada unequivocally condemns Iran's airborne attacks against Israel," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement on Saturday night. "The Iranian regime's latest actions will further destabilize the region and make lasting peace more difficult."

Canada 'unequivocally condemns' Iran's attack on Israel, Trudeau says

In Washington, U.S. President Joe Biden cut short a weekend trip to his beach house in Delaware to return to the White House to convene a meeting with his national security team to discuss the attacks.

"Our commitment to Israel's security against threats from Iran and its proxies is ironclad," Biden said on social media.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called Iran's actions "reckless" and said they showed it was "intent on sowing chaos in its own backyard."

The foreign ministries of Egypt and Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, called for the exercise of the "utmost restraint" to spare the region and its people from further factors of instability and tension.

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who also condemned the attack, called for the immediate cessation of hostilities to avoid "major military confrontations."

Cargo ship seized

Hours earlier, Iran's Revolutionary Guards seized an Israeli-linked cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz. The move came days after Tehran said it could close the crucial shipping route and warned it would retaliate for the Israeli strike in Syria.

Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported that a Guards helicopter had boarded and taken into Iranian waters the Portuguese-flagged MSC Aries.

MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company), which operates the Aries, confirmed Iran had seized the ship and said it was working "with the relevant authorities" for its safe return and the well-being of its 25 crew.

MSC leases the Aries from Gortal Shipping, an affiliate of Zodiac Maritime, Zodiac said in a statement, adding that MSC is responsible for all of the vessel's activities. Zodiac is partly owned by Israeli businessman Eyal Ofer.

Video on Iranian news channels purporting to show the seizure included a figure abseiling from a helicopter onto a ship. Reuters was able to verify that the ship in the video was the MSC Aries but not the date it was recorded.

With files from Reuters and CBC News

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