Iran, on Wednesday (April 22, 2026, fired on three cargo ships and seized two of them that were crossing the Strait of Hormuz, charging them with “manipulating navigation systems and endangering safety”. The seized ships were taken to Iranian ports.
The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC) made the military seizure of the cargo ships, among which one was India-bound, according to reports reaching New Delhi.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, on Thursday (April 23), clarified during his weekly media briefing that the seized ships were foreign-owned, but had a few Indians as crew members.
He also mentioned that India was continuing to engage with Iran on the safe passage for cargo ships that were heading to Indian ports.
IRGC’s naval wing said in a statement that “two violating ships, MSC FRANCESCA and EPAMINODAS, which endangered maritime security by operating without necessary permits and tampering with navigation systems, were seized by the IRGC Navy and directed to the coast of Iran.”
MCS Francesca is said to be Panama-flagged, but operated by Israel, while Epaminondas was Liberia-flagged. It was the Liberian-flagged container ship that was headed to Gujarat in India from Jebel Ali in Dubai. “Disruption of order and safety in the Strait of Hormuz is our red line,” the IRGC said.
Iran also seized one more container ship in the Strait of Hormuz the same day, amidst US President Donald Trump announcing the extension of the ceasefire with Tehran.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre (UKMTO) said an IRGC gunboat fired on one of the three container ships about 15 nautical miles northeast of Oman.
The third incident involved the Panama-flagged Euphoria, owned by a UAE-based firm, which was reportedly attacked around eight nautical miles west of Iran. The UKMTO stated that the crew remained unharmed and the ship did not suffer any damage.
The IRGC actions seemed a tit-for-tat against the US Navy’s act of seizing an Iranian port-bound ship from China after attacking and boarding it earlier this week.