Iranian forces took over the Portuguese ship “MCS ARIES” in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, according to Israeli media.
The ship is currently sailing through the Persian Gulf, according to ship tracking site, Marine Traffic. The ship was heading in the direction of India.
MSC is the manager and commercial operator of the MSC ARIES, international shipping company Zodiac Maritime said in a statement.
“MSC is responsible for all vessel activities including cargo operations and maintenance. Title to the vessel is held by Gortal Shipping Inc as financier and she has been leased to MSC on a long-term basis. Gortal Shipping Inc is affiliated with Zodiac Maritime,” said the Zodiac Maritime Shipping Company, partly owned by Israeli businessman Eyal Ofer.
There were 20 Filipinos on board the ship.
Iran state-run media stated that its Revolutionary Guards had seized the MSC Aries ship, saying it was “linked to Israel” and it was being transferred to Iran’s territorial waters.
A Guards navy special forces helicopter boarded the Portuguese flagged vessel and seized it, the Iranian state-run media reported.
Numerous media outlets cited a video reportedly seen exclusively by the Associated Press showing a helicopter raiding a ship near the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday. A Middle East defense official reportedly told the wire service that Iran is behind the attack.
UKMTO reports incident
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on Saturday that a vessel was seized by “regional authorities” 50 nautical miles (92 km) northeast of the United Arab Emirates’ Fujairah.
UKMTO did not say which authorities it was referring to, however the two reports share the same location, and there are no other incidents in the area.
A US defense official said “we are aware of the situation reported by UKMTO and we are monitoring it” but would not confirm or deny the name of the vessel when asked if it was the MSC Aries, Reuters reported.
Israel’s military spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in response, “Iran will bear consequences for choosing to escalate this situation any further.”
“The Ayatollah regime of Khamenei is a criminal regime that supports Hamas’ crimes and is now conducting a pirate operation in violation of international law,” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a statement published on X, formerly Twitter.
“I call on the European Union and the free world to immediately declare the Iranian Revolutionary Guards corps as a terrorist organization and to sanction Iran now.”
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. World leaders have been working to avert direct confrontation between the two rival countries.
