Zodiac News

The 25 crew members of the MSC Aries, which was seized by Iran on April 13, are safe, shipping firm MSC said on Wednesday, adding that discussions with Iranian authorities are in progress to secure their earliest release."We are also working with the Iranian authorities to have the cargo discharged," the Swiss headquartered company said in a statement.Iran's Revolutionary Guards seized the container vessel in the Strait of Hormuz days after Tehran vowed to retaliate for a suspected Israeli strike on its consulate in Damascus on April 1.

Portugal's foreign ministry summoned Iran's ambassador on Tuesday to condemn Saturday's attack on Israel by Tehran and to demand the immediate release of a Portuguese-flagged container ship, the MSC Aries, that was seized by Iran on April 13.The ministry said in a statement after the meeting that it "will await the results of this formal measure and evaluate any additional steps, depending on those".It said Portugal had demanded the release of the crew "as explanations provided so far have not been considered consistent"…

A Portuguese-flagged container ship, the MSC Aries, was seized by Iran on April 13 for "violating maritime laws", Iran's foreign ministry said on Monday, adding that there was no doubt the vessel was linked to Israel.Iran's Revolutionary Guards seized the cargo vessel in the Strait of Hormuz days after Tehran vowed to retaliate for a suspected Israeli strike on its consulate in Damascus on April 1. Iran had said it could close the crucial shipping route."The vessel was diverted…

MSC is the manager and commercial operator of a vessel seized on Saturday by Iranian authorities, international shipping company Zodiac Maritime said in a statement."MSC is responsible for all vessel activities including cargo operations and maintenance. Title to the vessel is held by Gortal Shipping Inc as financier, and she has been leased to MSC on a long-term basis. Gortal Shipping Inc is affiliated with Zodiac Maritime," said the company, partly owned by Israeli businessman…

SunStone Maritime Group has announced the long-term summer charter of the Infinity vessel, Ocean Victory, with a new client.From April 2025, the Ocean Victory will be trading in the Mediterranean Sea during northern hemisphere summer seasons for Spanish luxury cruise operator, Alma Cruceros.Alma Cruceros is a Spanish operator planning itineraries covering Spanish destinations in the Mediterranean, as well as Northern and Western Africa and the Canary Islands. The cruise product will be designed for Spanish speaking passengers in all areas from music…

SunStone Maritime Group announced it has secured multi-year charters for two of its expedition cruise ships.The deals are for SunStone's Infinity Class vessels Ocean Explorer and the Ocean Odyssey, both built by China Merchants Heavy Industry (Jiangsu) and delivered in 2021 and 2022 respectively.Under its new charter agreement, Ocean Explorer will return to polar cruising in October 2024 for SunStone's long-term client Quark Expeditions. The vessel, which ran aground in a remote part of Greenland last year…

BYD's first chartered vehicle carrier has set sail from China's southern city of Shenzhen, carrying more than 5,000 electric vehicles to Europe, state media Xinhua reported on Tuesday.Chinese automakers including BYD, Chery Automobile and SAIC Motor, have been placing orders for vessels to counter rising shipping costs as they boost exports.The new roll-on, roll-off vehicle carrier named "BYD Explorer No.1" departed on Monday for Flushing Port in the Netherlands and the German port of Bremerhaven…

The steel cutting ceremony for the seventh and final vessel in the Infinity series of expedition cruise ships took place at the Haimen shipyard of China Merchants Heavy Industries (CMHI).The PC6 expedition cruise ship, yet to be named, will embark on a long-term charter upon its delivery, the ship is technically identical to the rest of the Infinity vessels.The Infinity-class newbuilds, featuring up to 95 passenger cabins, each equipped with bathrooms and most with balconies, promise an immersive and comfortable experience for travellers.

An attempted hijacking of a commercial vessel in the Gulf of Aden on Sunday appears to have been carried out by armed Somali pirates and not Yemeni Houthis, despite the firing of missiles from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen afterwards, the Pentagon said on Monday."We're continuing to assess, but initial indications are that these five individuals are Somali," said Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Patrick Ryder."Clearly a piracy related incident," Ryder added.A U.S. Navy warship responded to a distress call on Sunday from the chemical tanker Central Park.

A U.S. Navy warship responded to a distress call from a commercial tanker in the Gulf of Aden that had been seized by armed individuals and is now safe, U.S. officials said on Sunday.The tanker, which had been carrying a cargo of phosphoric acid, was identified as the Central Park by the vessel's company. The officials did not identify the attackers.In a statement, the U.S. military said the USS Mason, with help from allied ships, demanded that the commercial ship be released by the attackers. Five armed individuals tried to escape on a fast boat but were chased by the U.S.

Unidentified armed individuals have seized a tanker carrying a cargo of phosphoric acid in the Gulf of Aden on Sunday, the vessel's managing company and a U.S. defence official said.The incident, involving the chemical tanker Central Park, is the latest in a series of attacks in Middle Eastern waters since a brutal war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas broke out on October 7.It followed a seizure of an Israeli-linked cargo ship by Yemen Houthis, allies of Iran, in the southern Red Sea last week.

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Iran denies Israel's accusation that Tehran targeted an Israeli tanker on Feb. 10, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said on Monday.The captain of the Liberian-flagged Campo Square said on Saturday it had been lightly damaged by an airborne object on Feb. 10 while sailing through the Arabian Sea.

An Israeli-linked tanker was lightly damaged in an attack last week by an airborne object while sailing through the Arabian Sea, the ship's manager confirmed on Saturday.Regional defence and security sources suspect the assault was carried out by Iran, which did not comment on the incident. Tehran has rejected accusations it was behind similar attacks in the past few years.The Liberian-flagged Campo Square had no cargo when it was hit late at night on Feb. 10, about 300 nautical miles off the coasts of India and Oman, the manager said in a statement.Shipping databases linked the tanker to Zodiac Maritime, which is controlled by Israeli shipping magnate Eyal Ofer."We can confirm that both the vessel and crew are safe and proceeding as per planned passage.

Iran on Saturday rejected as psychological warfare accusations that it was behind a deadly attack on a tanker off Oman's coast, and said Tehran sought to enhance the security of the strategic Gulf waterway.Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven wealthy economies said on Friday Iran was threatening international peace and security and that all available evidence showed it was behind the attack on the Mercer Street tanker last week."If we were to confront enemies...we would declare it openly, so the recent storytelling by the enemies is a psychological operation," state media quoted Abolfazl Shekarchi, Iran's senior armed forces spokesman…

Britain will raise a deadly tanker attack off the coast of Oman during a closed-door United Nations Security Council meeting on Friday, diplomats said, but the 15-member body is not expected to take any action.Britain told the Security Council on Tuesday it was "highly likely" that Iran used one or more drones to carry out the tanker attack last week, which killed two crew members - a Briton and a Romanian."There's a lot of conflicting information. A 'highly likely' analysis, which we totally reject. We need to establish facts ... we don't need to rush to any conclusions or actions without having proof of what has happened," deputy Russian U.N.

The Indonesian Navy says it has seized a Panamanian-flagged tanker in the waters off Riau islands after the foreign vessel was found to be carrying more than 4,000 tons of oil without valid permits.Indonesian Navy commander admiral Arsyad Abdullah said in a statement late Wednesday that the Panamanian-flagged tanker, the MT Zodiac Star, was seized on suspicion of conducting illegal activities in the country's waters.The Navy said the Panamanian-flagged tanker was carrying 4,600 tons of ‘black oil’, suspected of being waste, without a port clearance or a valid permit to transport dangerous goods.“The Navy will not hesitate to take action against all forms of legal violations that occur in Indonesian waters…

Swan Hellenic announced that SH Diana, the newest and largest ship in its fleet, was floated out of dry dock this week at Helsinki Shipyard.SH Diana’s fitting out is now already under way, leaving the luxury expedition cruise ship on schedule for her maiden cruise leaving Palermo, Italy for Lisbon, Portugal on April 15. The 125-meter-long, 12,100 GRT vessel will then make its way up the West Atlantic seaboard of Europe for explorations of the Arctic.Andrea Zito, CEO of Swan Hellenic Limited…

A non-piracy incident is under way off the coast of the United Arab Emirates' Fujairah, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported on Tuesday.The UKMTO warning notice, based on a third party source, advised vessels to exercise extreme caution in the area, around 61 nautical miles east of the emirate of Fujairah.UKTMO provided no details regarding the vessel or vessels involved.However on Tuesday afternoon a Singapore-flagged chemical tanker in roughly the same position off Fujairah named Golden Brilliant updated its AIS tracking status to "Not Under Command"…

Newbuild spend for vehicle carriers, including large car and truck carriers (LCTC), pure car and truck carriers (PCTC) and pure car carriers (PCC), smashed past $3.2 billion last week, following big volume orders from Eastern Pacific and Zodiac—an astonishing amount of money for a niche sector, exceeding the previous six years total combined. If we include options, a whopping $4.4 billion has been agreed year to date. Japanese shipyards have raised tariffs to $100 million for dual fuel liquefied natural gas (LNG) 7,000 car equivalent units (CEU), up by a staggering $10 million compared to last year. Chinese yards have followed but maintain a healthy discount quoting $88 million for an equivalent spec.

In November 2021, GTMaritime published a white paper: “Maritime Communications - A look over the horizon.” The report, available here, is built around three broad Sections – 1. “Basics of marine Communications;” 2. “The connected ship;” and 3. “Special services.”Then, each Section presents a closer look at various topics. The “Basics” section, for example, covers regulatory issues established by IMO treaties and national agencies. It presents the terms and concepts that define satellite systems and networks…

Iran will respond promptly to any threat against its security, the foreign ministry said on Monday, after the United States, Israel and Britain blamed Tehran for an attack on an Israeli-managed tanker off the coast of Oman.Tehran has denied any involvement in the attack on Thursday in which two crew members—a Briton and a Romanian—were killed.The United States and Britain said on Sunday they would work with their allies to respond to the attack on the Mercer Street, a Liberian-flagged, Japanese-owned petroleum product tanker managed by Israeli-owned Zodiac Maritime.British Prime Minister Boris Johnson described the incident as "clearly an unacceptable and outrageous attack on commercial shipping"."Iran should face up to the consequences of what they've done…

The United States is confident Iran attacked an Israeli-managed tanker last week, killing two, the top U.S. diplomat said on Monday, predicting a "collective response" but saying he did not think the incident necessarily signaled anything about Iran's incoming President Ebrahim Raisi."We have seen a series of actions taken by Iran over many months, including against shipping. So I am not sure that this particular action is anything new or augurs anything one way or another for the new government," Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters.