Iran seizes containership in Strait of Hormuz

Iranian forces seized a containership operated by Switzerland-based MSC in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, April 13.

The Portuguese-flagged MSC Aries was some 80 kilometres off the coast of the UAE when it was boarded by Iranian heliborne troops, who subsequently ordered the crew to bring the vessel into Iranian waters.

The containership had earlier departed Khalifa in the UAE and was en route to India at the time of the hijacking.

Iranian state media said that the boarding was carried out by the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) paramilitary force and that the ship had links to Israel.

The BBC said the ship is managed by MSC and owned by an affiliate of Zodiac Maritime, the shipping company owned by Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer. The 25-strong crew includes Estonian, Filipino, Indian, Pakistani, and Russian nationals.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz posted on X (formerly Twitter) saying that Iran’s boarding of MSC Aries was “a pirate operation in violation of international law” and that the European Union should declare the IRGC as a terrorist organisation.

White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson meanwhile issued a statement calling for the immediate release of the vessel and its crew, as the seizure of a civilian vessel without provocation is “a blatant violation of international law.”