The Strait of Hormuz is a strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. It provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean and is one of the world's most strategically important choke points. On the north coast lies Iran, and on the south coast lies the Musandam peninsula, shared by the United Arab Emirates and the Musandam Governorate, an exclave of Oman. The strait is about 90 nautical miles (167 km) long, with a width varying from about 52 nmi (96 km) to 21 nmi (39 km).
Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A., branded as MSC, is an international shipping line founded by Gianluigi Aponte in Italy in 1970. The company is owned by the Aponte family with its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, since 1978. It is the world's largest container shipping company by both fleet size and cargo capacity, controlling 20 per cent of global container capacity as at July 2024.
CMA CGM is a French shipping and logistics company founded in 1978 by Jacques Saadé.
Piracy off the coast of Somalia occurs in the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel, and Somali Sea, in Somali territorial waters and other surrounding places and has a long troubled history with different perspectives from different communities. It was initially a threat to international fishing vessels during the early 2000s, only to rapidly escalate and expand to international shipping during the War in Somalia (2006–2009).
Zodiac Maritime Ltd is an international ship management company that owns and charters out large vessels. It is part of Ofer Global based in Monaco and chaired by Eyal Ofer. It has a long-standing business relationship with Mediterranean Shipping Company.
The Victoria Affair was a military operation conducted by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in March 2011 in which the Israeli Navy intercepted the vessel Victoria on the international waters in the Mediterranean, and discovered concealed weapons which, according to the IDF, were destined for Palestinian militant organizations in the Gaza Strip. The vessel was found to be carrying approximately 50 tons of weapons, including C-704 anti-ship missiles, rocket launchers, radar systems, mortar shells and rifle ammunition.
The Special Unit of NEDSA, also known as Sepah Navy Special Force(S.N.S.F.), is a Takavar unit in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy stationed in the Greater Farur Island of the Persian Gulf.
On 12 May 2019, four commercial ships were damaged off Fujairah's coast in the Gulf of Oman. The ships included two Saudi Arabian registered oil tankers, a Norwegian registered oil tanker, and an Emirati registered bunkering ship. The ships were anchored on the United Arab Emirates territorial waters for bunkering in Port of Fujairah. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates reported that the ships had been subject to a "sabotage attack". The United Arab Emirates launched a joint investigation probe with United States and France. The initial investigation assessment determined that 5-to-10-foot holes near or below all the ships' waterlines were probably caused by explosive charges.
On 13 June 2019, two oil tankers were attacked near the Strait of Hormuz while they transited the Gulf of Oman. The Kokuka Courageous, flagged in Panama and operated by a company based in Japan, and Front Altair, flagged in Marshall Islands and operated by a company based in Norway, were attacked, allegedly with limpet mines or flying objects, sustaining fire damage. American and Iranian military personnel responded and rescued crew members. The attacks took place a month after the similar May 2019 Gulf of Oman incident and on the same day, Iranian Supreme Leader Iran Ali Khamenei met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe in Iran. Abe was acting as an intermediary between US President Donald Trump and Khamenei.
The Orion class is a series of 8 container ships built for Zodiac Maritime. The first 4 ships are operated by Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and the remaining ships are operated by Ocean Network Express (ONE). The ships were built by Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea. The ships have a maximum theoretical capacity of 14,952 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU).
On 29 July 2021, the oil tanker MT Mercer Street, travelling from Tanzania to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with no cargo on board, was attacked off the coast of Oman. The ship is flagged in Liberia. It is Japanese-owned and managed by Israeli-owned Zodiac Maritime, an international ship management company headquartered in London and led by billionaire shipping magnate Eyal Ofer, who is an Israeli citizen.
On 3 August 2021 the asphalt tanker Asphalt Princess, travelling from Khor Fakkan, the United Arab Emirates, to the Sohar, Oman, was attacked and boarded in the Gulf of Oman. The ship is flagged in Panama. The vessel is owned by Glory International, listed as based in the Emirati free zone.
On 19 April 2022, the Iranian-flagged tanker Lana, with 19 Russian crew members on board, was seized by Greek authorities near the southern island of Evia; this sparked an international incident. Greek authorities had connected Russian sanctions imposed by the European Union after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February to the tanker seizure in Greece.
The Red Sea crisis began on 19 October 2023, when the Iran-backed Houthi movement in Yemen launched missiles and armed drones at Israel, demanding an end to the invasion of the Gaza Strip. The Houthis have since seized and launched aerial attacks against dozens of merchant and naval vessels in the Red Sea, drawing hundreds of air strikes on missile sites and other targets by US and allied forces. The crisis is linked to the Israel–Hamas war, the Iran–Israel proxy conflict, the Iran–United States proxy conflict, and the Yemeni crisis.
Galaxy Leader is a roll-on/roll-off vehicle carrier built in 2002 at Stocznia Gdynia in Gdynia, Poland. It was operated by the Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen, and owned by Galaxy Maritime Ltd., which in turn is owned by Ray Car Carriers, Ltd., which is co-owned by Israeli businessman Abraham Ungar. In November 2023, the ship was hijacked by Houthis, who seized the ship and took its 25 crew members hostage in Yemen.
These are monthly timelines of the Red Sea crisis, which began on 19 October 2023.
In 2024, the Iran–Israel proxy conflict escalated to a series of direct confrontations between the two countries. On 1 April, Israel bombed an Iranian consulate complex in Damascus, Syria, killing multiple senior Iranian officials. In response, Iran and its proxies seized the Israeli-linked ship MSC Aries and launched strikes inside Israel on 13 April. Israel then carried out retaliatory strikes in Iran and Syria on 19 April.
2023 in piracy was marked by 120 events of maritime piracy against ships, according to the annual Piracy and Armed Robbery Report of the ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB). 105 vessels were boarded, nine additional attacks attempted, two fired upon, and four vessels hijacked.
2022 in piracy resulted in 115 reports of maritime piracy and armed robbery against ships to the International Maritime Bureau. 288 acts of global piracy and robbery were recorded by the MICA Centre. Piracy had substantially increased in the Gulf of Guinea; the year began with five incidents each month, through March, in the Gulf, where acts of piracy had become heightened during 2015 through 2020, while, overall, piracy incidents declined globally.
2024 in piracy included 33 reports of maritime piracy and armed robbery against ships to the International Maritime Bureau during the first quarter of the year. Incidents included 24 vessels boarded, six of which experienced attempted attacks; two hijacked; and one fired upon. Crew continued to suffer violence, with 35 crew taken hostage, nine kidnapped, and one threatened during the first three months of the year.
