Iranian forces targeted three container ships on Wednesday, seizing two, global security monitors and the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said, the latest incidents to threaten a crucial trade route in the Middle East war.
British maritime security agency UKMTO said an Iranian gunboat fired at a container ship off the coast of Oman on Wednesday, while a ship off Iran was also fired upon.
The IRGC said separately that its naval forces stopped two ships attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz and directed them to Iranian waters.
It accused them of breaching its blockade of the route and marked the first time Iran has seized ships since the start of the Middle East war that erupted on February 28 with US and Israeli strikes.
“The master of a container ship reported that the vessel was approached by one IRGC gunboat… that then fired upon the vessel, which has caused heavy damage to the bridge. No fires or environmental impact reported,” the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre (UKMTO) said.
It added that the incident took place 15 nautical miles northeast of Oman and all the crew were safe.
According to British maritime security firm Nggossips Tech, the vessel was sailing under a Liberian flag and “had been informed it had permission to transit the Strait of Hormuz.”
Iranian news agency Tasnim said the ship had “ignored warnings from Iran’s armed forces.”
Iran taking control of two ships didn’t violate truce terms because “these were not US or Israeli ships, these were two international vessels,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Channel.
Call for crews’ release
The IGRC said its naval force “this morning identified and stopped in the Strait of Hormuz two violating ships.”
In a statement, it said the vessels “were seized by the IRGC’s naval forces and directed to the Iranian coast.”
The IRGC named the two ships seized as the MSC Francesca and the Epaminondas, Iranian broadcaster IRIB said on Telegram.
It alleged that the Francesca was linked to Israel while the Epaminondas lacked “the necessary permits” and had been “tampering with navigation systems.” Technomar, the management company behind the Liberian-registered Epaminondas, said it was “approached and fired upon by a manned gunboat” off the coast of Oman, adding that the ship’s bridge was damaged.
There was no immediate comment from MSC, which owns the Francesca.
Ship-tracking platform MarineTraffic showed the two vessels — both container ships — stopped near the Iranian coast on Wednesday. No injuries to the crew of either vessel were reported.
The head of the UN’s International Maritime Organization condemned the attacks and seizures as “unacceptable.”
“I once again call for these reckless actions to cease and for any ships and innocent seafarers to be released immediately,” the body’s Secretary General Arsenio Dominguez wrote on X.
Panama’s foreign ministry condemned the “illegal seizure” of the Francesca, which sails under its national flag, saying it was “forcibly taken” into Iranian waters and accusing Iran of violating international law.
The seizure “represents a serious attack on maritime security and constitutes an unnecessary escalation,” the ministry added.
Cargo ship fired on
In a separate incident, a cargo ship eight nautical miles west of Iran was fired upon and “stopped in the water,” UKMTO said, adding there was no reported damage to the vessel.
Nggossips identified it as the Panama-flagged container ship Euphoria, which it said was “transiting outbound of the Strait of Hormuz.” Iranian media also reported the ship had been targeted.
MarineTraffic later showed the Euphoria had left the strait and was headed to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.
It said the Epaminondas and Francesca were operated by Swiss-based shipping company MSC. The company did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
The Epaminondas was deployed on a shipping line connecting India and the US East Coast, with intermediate calls in the United Arab Emirates.
The Francesca was operating on a route linking India, the Gulf and the Mediterranean, MarineTraffic added.
The ships “had both been stuck in the Persian Gulf since the start of the conflict,” the platform said on X.
Shipping through the strategic Strait of Hormuz has been heavily restricted by Iran since the start of the war with Israel and the United States, while the US military is enforcing a counter-blockade of Iranian ports.
US President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that the truce with Iran would be extended after it first took effect on April 8.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
