Ship seizure and “mammoth” fine for a major shipping company by Iran bring the geopolitical map of the Middle East to the forefront again.
The geopolitical map of the Middle East is coming to the forefront once again, with a case set against a shipping backdrop, after Iranian prosecutors are demanding a “mammoth” amount from London-based Zodiac Maritime as a fine regarding the case of the MSC Aries container ship, which was seized by Iranian forces in February under the pretext of transporting “dangerous and harmful materials”.
“A fine of 170 million dollars has been requested against its owner, who is of Israeli origin,” judicial spokesman Asghar Jahangir stated on Tuesday.
The MSC Aries was seized by Iranian agents as it was sailing near the Strait of Hormuz on April 13, 2024. It was just one day before Iran launched its massive drone and missile attack on Israel. The ship and its 25 crew members were detained. This seizure was not an unusual action for Iran, as it commonly seizes ships during periods of geopolitical tension.
The MSC Aries is owned by a subsidiary of Zodiac Maritime and is chartered to the MSC company. Zodiac is based in the United Kingdom and is considered a British company.
Behind the company is a name that has left its mark on international shipping. One of its owners is Eyal Ofer, one of the 100 richest people in the world, who currently manages his fortune from Monaco. Ofer is of Israeli origin and, more specifically, is one of the two sons of Israeli shipping legend Sammy Ofer and is described by some Israeli media as “the richest man in Israel”. In Iran, he is considered a “Zionist capitalist” and is accused of financing terrorism.
The charge of transporting dangerous materials claimed by Iran is unusual, as it is not unprecedented for container ships to carry dangerous goods. A security violation of this type is usually treated as a civil or administrative matter in most of the world’s ports and not as a criminal case. The company, as expected, can post a bond to have the ship released while the judicial process unfolds.
From personal experience, those of us sailors who have passed through the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf know how easy it is for a ship to sail into Iran’s economic zone and find itself confronted out of nowhere by Iranian special forces.
The area remains one of the most dangerous in the world, as Iran exploits its geostrategic position to the extreme and creates problems for ships, sailors, and global trade.
