The International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) has called for immediate release of the ill-fated MSC-chartered vessel MSC Aries, as well as her crew by Iran
Recall that, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards had seized an Israeli-linked cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, days after Tehran said it could close the crucial shipping route and warned it would retaliate for an Israeli strike on its Syria consulate.
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported that a Guards helicopter had boarded and taken into Iranian waters the Portuguese flagged MSC Aries, saying it was linked to Israel.
MSC, which operates the Aries, confirmed Iran had seized the ship and said it was working “with the relevant authorities” for its safe return and the wellbeing of its 25 crew.
MSC leases the Aries from Gortal Shipping, an affiliate of Zodiac Maritime, Zodiac said in a statement, adding that MSC is responsible for all the vessel’s activities. Zodiac is partly owned by Israeli businessman Eyal Ofer.
However, following the seizure, the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) has called upon Iran to ensure the immediate release of the international crew as well as the MSC-chartered vessel MSC Aries.
The statement reads in part: “We express our deepest concern for the welfare of the seafarers of this ship, which follows the hijacking of the crew of the Ro-Ro carrier Galaxy Leader in the Red Sea back in November. As stated by our colleagues at the International Chamber of Shipping, innocent seafarers are suffering directly as a consequence of geopolitical conflicts, and this has serious implications for the global maritime communities and the ports that serve them” commented Patrick Verhoeven, IAPH’s Managing Director”.
The seizure, which was confirmed by both the Iranian state news agency as well as the charterer, is of a 14,300 TEU capacity container ship which had just completed a call at Khalifa port in the UAE and which was heading with cargo onboard for her next call at Nhava Shiva port in India.
Patrick Verhoeven added: “The recent attacks on merchant shipping in the Red Sea and in the Gulf of Aden have impacted the fluidity of the global maritime transport chain, and specifically on trade and port activities in and around the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. The attack today in the Gulf of Oman has the potential to further disrupt cargo transits in and out of the region, which will impact all of our member ports one way or another. This make its all the more important to share information and know how on how to respond to these constant disruptions, together.”
