Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Seizes MSC Francesca And Epaminondas, Takes Them Toward Bandar Abbas

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard seized two container ships in the Strait of Hormuz and took them toward the port of Bandar Abbas, according to multiple reports citing Reuters.

“US military says it seizes another oil tanker associated with Iran US military says it seizes another oil tanker associated with Iran DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U”

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

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Reuters reporting, carried by Investing, said the ships were taken toward Bandar Abbas with about 40 crew aboard, and that one ship was operated by MSC while the other was chartered by the firm.

Reuters also reported that the ship anchored “nine nautical miles from the Iranian coast,” and that “Negotiations between MSC and Iran are ongoing, our sailors are fine,” as Montenegro’s minister of maritime affairs Filip Radulovic told state broadcaster RTCG.

The Reuters-based report further said four sailors on the MSC Francesca including its captain are from Montenegro, and that two Croatians are also aboard, with Croatia’s foreign ministry confirming.

Reuters added that the Liberia-flagged Epaminondas has a crew of 21 members made up of Ukrainians and Filipinos, according to the Greek coast guard, and that it had been bound for India.

Fox News also described that “Some 20 Iranians armed to the teeth stormed the ship,” and that sailors were under Iranians’ control with their movements limited, while “the Iranians are treating them well,” according to a relative of a captive onboard one of the ships told Reuters.

In parallel, Reuters reporting said both crews were reported safe, but authorities in their home countries were seeking information about the well-being of the seafarers and working on their release.

The seizures unfolded as the U.S. and Iran maintained competing blockades and as sea mines complicated navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, according to The Guardian and CNBC.

The Guardian reported that Donald Trump said the U.S. had “total control over the strait of Hormuz,” while also noting that the claim seemed questionable given Iran’s seizure of two container ships and a U.S. report warning it could take six months to clear the strait of mines.

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The Guardian said the Pentagon warned it could take up to six months to clear suspected mines from sea routes, and that “approximately 20 mines were thought to have been placed in the strait,” with some deposited by small boats and others manoeuvred into place remotely.

The Guardian also quoted Trump’s Truth Social post saying US minesweepers were working “at a tripled up level” and that he had ordered the U.S. navy “to shoot and kill” any boat mining the waterway, adding “There is to be no hesitation,” said Trump.

CNBC described the same standoff as a naval confrontation between blockades, saying “Iran continues to demand that ships obtain its permission to transit the strait” while Trump claimed the U.S. has “total control” over the sea lane.

CNBC also said the U.S. Navy maintained its blockade of Iranian ports and vessels, and that Trump said “no ship is allowed to enter or leave the strait without the approval of the Navy.”

CNBC further reported that it was unclear how long the ceasefire could hold before the naval standoff turned into a shooting war again, while Trump said he ordered the U.S. Navy to “kill any boat” that is laying mines in the the strait.

The Guardian added that the impact of the dual blockades was “compounded by the presence of sea mines in the strait,” and that global oil prices were kept at about $100 (£74) a barrel.

Public statements by Donald Trump and energy officials were intertwined with the seizure reports and the mine-clearing warnings, as The Guardian and CNBC described.

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The Guardian said Trump again claimed the U.S. had “total control over the strait of Hormuz,” and it placed that assertion alongside the seizure of two container ships by Iranian commandos and the U.S. report warning it could take six months to clear mines.

The Guardian also quoted Trump’s Truth Social post: “We have total control over the strait of Hormuz. No ship can enter or leave without the approval of the United States navy. It is ‘Sealed up Tight,’ until such time as Iran is able to make a DEAL!!!”

The Guardian further reported that Fatih Birol, the head of the International Energy Agency, said in a CNBC interview that the world was facing “the biggest energy security threat in history”.

CNBC similarly reported that Trump said no ship is allowed to enter or leave the strait without the approval of the Navy, and it repeated Trump’s “Sealed up Tight” language.

CNBC also described the fragile truce between Washington and Tehran as silencing “for now” the bombs, missiles and drones that had caused death and destruction earlier in the war, while emphasizing that the conflict had evolved into naval blockades.

The Guardian added that the Pentagon spokesperson described the mine-clearing report as “inaccurate” while not providing specific objections, and it said Trump ordered the U.S. navy “to shoot and kill” any boat mining the waterway.

While those broader ceasefire details were separate from the Strait of Hormuz seizures, the reporting tied them to Trump’s broader posture of control and negotiation.

The Iranian seizures were reported alongside U.S. actions that the Pentagon said targeted tankers and vessels providing material support to Iran, with AP and Forbes describing the latest interdictions.

AP reported that the U.S. military on Thursday seized another tanker associated with smuggling Iranian oil, saying the Defense Department released video footage of U.S. forces on the deck of the oil tanker Majestic X, which was seized in the Indian Ocean.

CNBC

AP quoted a Pentagon statement: “We will continue global maritime enforcement to disrupt illicit networks and interdict vessels providing material support to Iran, wherever they operate,” and it said ship-tracking data showed the Majestic X in the Indian Ocean between Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

AP said there was no immediate response from Iran on the news of the seizure, and it described the seizure as coming a day after Iran attacked three cargo ships in the strait, capturing two of them.

AP also said the Majestic X is a Guyana-flagged oil tanker, that it previously had been named Phonix, and that it had been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2024 for smuggling Iranian crude oil in contravention of U.S. sanctions.

Forbes described a separate U.S. interdiction, saying the Pentagon announced it had seized stateless vessel M/T Majestic X, “transporting oil from Iran, in the Indian Ocean,” and that the interdiction was carried out by the Indo-Pacific Command.

Forbes added that the deputy speaker of Iran’s parliament, Hamidreza Haji Babaei, told Tasnim News Agency that the first tranche of tolls collected from ships passing the Strait of Hormuz had been deposited into the Iranian central bank’s account.

Reuters-based reporting in Investing also described Iran’s response to the earlier U.S. seizure of the Iran-flagged Touska, quoting a military spokesperson saying: “The armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will soon respond and retaliate against this armed piracy by the U.S. military.”

The seizure reports also emphasized crew safety and the diplomatic friction around ceasefire and negotiations, with Reuters-based details on seafarers and The Washington Post describing the negotiation breakdown.

“Two vessels reportedly seized by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday currently appear to be stationary just off the Iranian coast, according to ship tracking data”

CNN

Investing, citing Reuters, said both crews were reported safe, but authorities in their home countries were seeking information about the well-being of the seafarers and working on their release, while also noting that there was no information released about what, if any, cargo the ships were carrying.

CNN

Investing said both ships had their tracking transponder systems switched off, but maritime security sources said shipping data suggested they were near Bandar Abbas.

The Reuters-based report also said the MSC Francesca had four sailors from Montenegro including its captain, and that two Croatians were also aboard, with Croatia’s foreign ministry confirming.

It further said the Epaminondas had a crew of 21 members made up of Ukrainians and Filipinos, according to the Greek coast guard, and that it had been bound for India.

In parallel, The Washington Post reported that Iranian forces seized the MSC-Francesca and the Epaminondas in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, “just hours after President Donald Trump initially calmed fears of renewed violence by extending his ceasefire with Iran indefinitely.”

The Washington Post said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy said it seized the two ships, and it described that the ships had reported coming under attack earlier Wednesday.

The Washington Post also said a U.S. delegation led by Vice President JD Vance and a high-level team of Iranian officials were set to travel to Islamabad for a second round of face-to-face negotiations, but the Iranians informed mediators at the last minute that they would not attend so long as a U.S. blockade of the strait continues.