Zodiac Maritime

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In August 2018, ZM-owned LPG ship A Zodiac Maritime Agencies Lpg Ship Part Of The Fleet Amassed (33494087).jpeg
In August 2018, ZM-owned LPG ship
Zodiac operated LPG tanker Northumberland IMO 8813075 Northumberland (04).jpg
Zodiac operated LPG tanker Northumberland

Zodiac Maritime Ltd is an international ship management company that owns and charters out large vessels. [1] It is part of Ofer Global based in Monaco and chaired by Eyal Ofer. [2] It has a long-standing business relationship with Mediterranean Shipping Company.

Contents

History

On 2 January 2010, the MV Asian Glory was hijacked by pirates 1,000 km off the Horn of Africa. In late 2009 and early 2010, two of its ships (St James Park and MV Asian Glory ) were captured by Somali pirates. [3] [4]

In 2012, ZM owned the MSC Napoli, the container ship that ran into difficulty in the English Channel. [5] [6]

According to a 2014 analysis conducted by Globes, the companies of the Zodiac group generated together an operating profit of just over $1.5 billion in 2003–12, with an operating profit margin of 39%, and a 0.49% tax rate on profits. [7]

In July 2014, Eyal Ofer, the principal of Zodiac Group, received an honorary life membership of the Baltic Exchange for his contribution to shipping in the UK and global maritime trade. [8] Later that year, he was named in the top 10 most influential people in the shipping industry according to Lloyds List 2014. [9]

Iran has persistently attacked various vessels and seized ships amidst political issues since 2019. [10] [11]

On 29 July 2021, the oil tanker MT Mercer Street , managed by Zodiac, while travelling from Tanzania to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with no cargo on board, was attacked off the coast of Oman. [12] The US military announced that the drone had been produced in Iran. [13] [14]

In November 2023, amid the Israel–Hamas war, the Central Park, a tanker ship owned by Zodiac Maritime, was attacked in the Gulf of Aden by suspected Somali pirates. [15] [16]

On 13 April 2024, the IRGC Navy seized Portuguese-flagged container ship MSC Aries [17] in the Gulf of Oman off the Emirati port city of Fujairah, then steered the container ship through the Strait of Hormuz. [10] claiming that it had violated maritime laws. [18] MSC Aries is leased by MSC from Gortal Shipping Inc., which is an affiliate of Zodiac. [18]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strait of Hormuz</span> Strait between the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf

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).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mediterranean Shipping Company</span> Swiss international shipping line

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CMA CGM</span> French shipping company

CMA CGM is a French shipping and logistics company founded in 1978 by Jacques Saadé.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea</span>

Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea affects a number of countries in West Africa as well as the wider international community. By 2011, it had become an issue of global concern. Pirates in the Gulf of Guinea are often part of heavily armed criminal enterprises, who employ violent methods to steal oil cargo. In 2012, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), Oceans Beyond Piracy and the Maritime Piracy Humanitarian Response Program reported that the number of vessels attacks by West African pirates had reached a world high, with 966 seafarers attacked during the year. According to the Control Risks Group, pirate attacks in the Gulf of Guinea had by mid-November 2013 maintained a steady level of around 100 attempted hijackings in the year, a close second behind the Strait of Malacca in Southeast Asia.

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).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maersk Line</span> Danish shipping company

Maersk Line is a Danish international container shipping company and the largest operating subsidiary of Maersk, a Danish business conglomerate. Founded in 1928, it is the world's second largest container shipping company by both fleet size and cargo capacity, offering regular services to 374 ports in 116 countries. In 2019, it employed 83,625 people where 18,398 of which are vessel crew and the other 65,227 are processing and operations personnel in offices and ports. Maersk Line operates over 708 vessels and has a total capacity of about 4.1 million TEU.

Operation Dawn 8: Gulf of Aden was a naval operation carried out by the Royal Malaysian Navy against pirates in the Indian Ocean on 20 January 2011. In response to the hijacking of MV Bunga Laurel, the Malaysian Shipborne Protection Team deployed an attack helicopter and 14 members of the naval counter-terrorism group PASKAL in two rigid-hulled inflatable boats to retake the vessel and rescue the crew. After one night of trailing the tanker, the Malaysian forces successfully retook the ship by force on 20 January 2011, resulting in the wounding of three and the capture of four out of 18 pirates, and all 23 vessel crewmembers rescued.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sepah Navy Special Force</span> Takavar special forces unit of the Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

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.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">August 2021 Gulf of Oman incident</span> Attack on an oil tanker named the Asphalt Princess in the Gulf of Oman

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red Sea crisis</span> Houthi involvement in the Israel–Hamas war

The Red Sea crisis began on 19 October 2023, when the Iran-backed Ansar Allah 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the Red Sea crisis</span>

These are monthly timelines of the Red Sea crisis, which began on 19 October 2023.

Operation Sankalp is the Indian Navy's initiative aimed at ensuring the security of the regional maritime domain. The term Sankalp originates from Sanskrit and signifies the concept of "Commitment". It aligns with the Indian Navy's objective of safeguarding India's shipping interests and trade routes.

Iranian seizure of the <i>MSC Aries</i> 2024 maritime incident

On 13 April 2024 Iran seized MSC Aries, a Portuguese-registered and Madeira-flagged container ship owned by Gortal Shipping and leased to Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC). The ship, with a crew of 25 people, was boarded by Iranian commandos in the Strait of Hormuz, within international waters off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, and taken to Iranian waters, effectively imprisoning the crew.

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.

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.

References

  1. "PORT2PORT - Israel's Trade Portal". Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved October 25, 2009.
  2. "Eyal Ofer". Forbes.com. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  3. CNN Somali pirates hijack fourth vessel in a week Downloaded 3 January 2010.
  4. "Oil leak from beached British ship threatens sea birds". channelnewsasia.com. Channel NewsAsia. January 23, 2007. Archived from the original on January 26, 2007. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  5. "Stricken Ship in the English Channel Is Being Towed (Update1) - Bloomberg". Bloomberg News . 2012-10-26. Archived from the original on 2012-10-26. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
  6. "Oil leak from beached British ship threatens sea birds". Archived from the original on January 26, 2007. Retrieved January 23, 2007.
  7. Globes online, The Ofer family's British shipping companies made annual profits of $100-150 million over the past decade Archived March 2, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  8. Bray, Julian (July 11, 2014). "Eyal Ofer joins father Sammy as life member of the Baltic Exchange". TradeWinds. London.
  9. "7. Eyal Ofer, Zodiac Group". lloydslist.com. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  10. 1 2 "17 Indians among 25 crew on ship seized by Iran; India in touch with Iran to secure release of Indians". 2024-04-14. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  11. "US Navy says it prevented Iran from seizing tankers in Gulf of Oman". Reuters. 2023-07-06. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  12. "Deadly drone attack on tanker escalates Iran-Israel maritime tensions". CNN. August 2, 2021. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  13. "Mercer Street: Tanker blast evidence points to Iran, says US". BBC News. 6 August 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  14. "Iran and Israel are on the brink of catastrophe". Arab News . 15 August 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  15. Seligman, Lara (27 November 2023). "Pentagon: Suspected Somali pirates behind cargo ship attack in the Middle East". Politico . Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  16. Gambrell, Jon (26 November 2023). "US Navy seizes attackers who held Israel-linked tanker. Missiles from rebel-controlled Yemen follow". Washington Post. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  17. "Iranian forces take over Israel-linked Portuguese ship MCS ARIES". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 2024-04-13. Retrieved 2024-04-13.
  18. 1 2 "Iran says MSC Aries vessel seized for 'violating maritime laws'". 2024-04-15. Retrieved 2024-04-18.