Iran Security Forces Strike Three Container Ships, Including India-Bound Vessel, in the Strait of Hormuz
New Delhi:
Amid uncertainty surrounding the US-Iran ceasefire and proposed peace talks, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Wednesday seized one of two India-bound vessels while they were transiting through the Strait of Hormuz.
In total, Iranian security forces targeted three container ships—including the vessel bound for India—within the Strait.
Ship-tracking data reveals that all three container ships had crossed from the Persian Gulf into the Strait of Hormuz; however, two of them failed to transmit information regarding their location, destination, and port of origin while traversing the waterway.
Iranian state media and the BBC have identified the three container ships as the Liberia-flagged Epaminondas, and the Panama-flagged MSC Francesca and Euphoria.
According to AIS data available on the ship-tracking service VesselFinder, the Epaminondas listed India as its destination. The Epaminondas was the first vessel to come under fire on Wednesday.
According to the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) center, a “gunboat” belonging to Iran’s elite paramilitary force—the IRGC—opened fire on the container ship within the Strait of Hormuz, approximately 15 nautical miles northeast of Oman, causing significant damage to the vessel’s bridge.
Citing the British maritime intelligence firm Vanguard, the BBC reported that the second vessel to be targeted was the Euphoria. It had departed from the Port of Sharjah in the UAE on Tuesday, with its destination listed as Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
According to the UKMTO, the vessel was attacked at 06:38 UTC (12:08 PM IST) at a location eight nautical miles west of Iran. The ship’s owner subsequently brought the vessel to a halt. According to the UKMTO, the crew is reported to be safe, and the vessel sustained no damage. The MSC Francesca was the third vessel targeted by the IRGC Navy on Wednesday. Its destination remained unknown.
In a statement, the IRGC Navy announced that the Epaminondas and the MSC Francesca had been seized and were being escorted to the Iranian coast. It accused the vessels of “endangering maritime security by operating without necessary permits and by tampering with their navigation systems.”
The statement added, “Disrupting order and security in the Strait of Hormuz constitutes our red line.” These attacks occurred just hours after US President Donald Trump extended the ceasefire until peace negotiations with Iran could be concluded. However, there remains no clarity regarding whether a second round of talks is currently taking place in Islamabad. Iran has not yet decided whether it will dispatch a delegation, and according to reports, Vice President JD Vance’s visit to Pakistan has been put on hold.
Over the past three days, the US military has intercepted one Iranian vessel in the Gulf of Oman, while interdicting two additional vessels in the Indian Ocean region, as part of their ongoing blockade of Iranian ships and ports.
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