Ships seized by Iranians ‘armed to the teeth’ along Strait of Hormuz have been taken toward port: report

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The two container ships seized by Iranian forces in the Strait of Hormuz have been taken toward the port of Bandar Abbas along the key waterway, a report said Thursday.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claimed on Wednesday that the vessels, identified as the MSC Francesca and the Epaminondas, were operating without proper authorization and had tampered with navigation systems, accusations that could not be independently verified.

“Some 20 Iranians armed to the teeth stormed the ship. Sailors are under Iranians’ control, their ⁠movements on the ship are limited, but the Iranians are treating them well,” a relative of a captive onboard one of the ships told Reuters on Thursday in relation to one of the seizures.

The news outlet cited sources as saying that both ships — which are managed by Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) — were taken toward Bandar Abbas, with a combined 40 crew onboard.

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The Panama-flagged MSC Francesca vessel docked in Long Beach, California

“The ship is anchored nine nautical miles from the Iranian coast. Negotiations between MSC and Iran are ongoing, our sailors are fine,” Filip Radulovic, Montenegro’s minister of maritime affairs, was quoted by Reuters as telling state television there.

Before their seizure on Wednesday, the ships reported coming under fire near the strait, underscoring the increasingly volatile conditions in one of the world’s most critical shipping lanes.

The situation is unfolding after U.S. forces recently seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman as it was approaching Iranian waters Sunday.

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Soldiers boarding container ships MSC Francesca and Epaminondas in the Strait of Hormuz

That vessel, the Touska, remains in U.S. custody as American forces continue inspecting what maritime security sources told Reuters is likely “dual-use” cargo — materials that can serve both civilian and military purposes — following a voyage from Asia.

The U.S. military is also continuing to enforce a blockade of Iranian ports on Thursday.