Two MSC-managed ships seized near the Strait of Hormuz have been moved toward Bandar Abbas as shipping companies confront growing risks to crews.
Shipping companies trying to recover two container ships seized by Iranian forces near the Strait of Hormuz are facing a stark calculation: how to protect crews and vessels without sending more unarmed mariners into a volatile confrontation.
The vessels, identified as the MSC Francesca and the Epaminondas, have been taken toward the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas, according to Reuters reporting cited by Fox News. The ships, both managed by Mediterranean Shipping Company, were seized Wednesday after reporting that they had come under fire near the strait. Together, they had a combined 40 crew members on board.
For fleet controllers ashore, the danger is not only commercial disruption in one of the world’s most important maritime corridors. The New York Times described the decision facing shipping operators trying to free vessels trapped in the Persian Gulf with one blunt assessment: “Basically you’re sending someone unarmed into war.”
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claimed Wednesday that the ships had been operating without proper authorization and had tampered with navigation systems. Those allegations could not be independently verified from the available reporting.
A relative of a sailor aboard one of the seized vessels told Reuters that “some 20 Iranians armed to the teeth stormed the ship,” adding that the sailors’ movements were restricted but that they were being treated well. Filip Radulovic, Montenegro’s minister of maritime affairs, was quoted as saying one ship was anchored nine nautical miles from the Iranian coast, negotiations between MSC and Iran were continuing, and the sailors were fine.
The seizures are unfolding alongside a broader U.S.-Iran maritime standoff. U.S. forces recently seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship, the Touska, in the Gulf of Oman as it approached Iranian waters Sunday. The vessel remains in U.S. custody while American forces inspect cargo that maritime security sources told Reuters was likely “dual-use,” meaning it could have both civilian and military applications.
The U.S. military is also continuing to enforce a blockade of Iranian ports. U.S. Central Command said Thursday that American forces had redirected 33 vessels since the blockade began.
The immediate question is whether negotiations can secure the crews’ release and return the ships without further escalation around the Strait of Hormuz. No verified timeline for resolving the seizures has been reported.
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