Tensions escalated in the Strait of Hormuz on April 22 after Iran’s IRGC seized two ships in what analysts described as a “tit-for-tat” retaliation against the US. And one ship is linked to a billionaire shipping family with ties to Presidents Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron.
Video broadcast on Iranian state TV shows IRGC soldiers seizing container ships in the Strait, Reuters said on Thursday.
“About twenty Iranians armed to the teeth stormed the ship. The sailors are under Iranian control, their movements on the ship are restricted, but the Iranians treat them well,” said a relative of one of the MSC Francesca seafarers. Reuters.
TRUMP’S SPECIALS WITKOFF AND KUSHNER VISIT US AIRPLANES AGAINST TENSION IN IRAN, TALKS
Soldiers take part in the seizure of the container ships MSC Francesca and Epaminondas in the Strait of Hormuz, according to footage broadcast on Iranian state television and released on April 22, 2026. (IRIB/Handout/Reuters)
“The ship is anchored 9 nautical miles off the Iranian coast. Negotiations between MSC and Iran are ongoing, our sailors are doing well,” Montenegrin Maritime Minister Filip Radulovic told state broadcaster RTCG.
Maritime Intelligence Agency Windward AI pointed out the IRGC’s tit-for-tat tactics given the recent seizure of MSC ships.
This followed a US naval blockade imposed on April 13, with Tehran warning of retaliation after US forces also seized an Iranian ship.
IRAN FIRES LIVE MISSILES INTO STRAIT OF HORMUZ AS TRUMP HEALTH ARRIVAL FOR NUCLEAR TALKS
Soldiers take part in the operation to seize the container ships MSC Francesca and Epaminondas in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian state television on April 22, 2026. (IRIB/Handout/Reuters)
“This is a tit-for-tat exercise by the IRGC, which, along with the Houthis, has long claimed that MSC is linked to Israel.
“Aponte, owner and chairman, has a Jewish wife, and MSC serves Israel; but so do all major liner companies.”
Diego Aponte, Gianluigi’s son, had ‘made a breakthrough in Trump’s circle’ Bloomberg reported on April 13.
He also helped organize a White House meeting in November 2025 with Swiss business leaders that led to a tentative agreement to reduce the 39% tariffs imposed on Switzerland this summer.
BLOCKADE 101: US NAVY FORCE ON DISPLAY AS TRUMP TALKS TO IRAN AND WARNS ABOUT CHINA
MSC’s executive chairman has been photographed with French President Emmanuel Macron. (Reuters/Stephane Mahe)
Over the past year, MSC’s relationship with White House father Gianluigi Aponte has also positioned itself as a key player in a $19 billion deal with Li Ka-shing, as MSC and BlackRock sought to acquire two ports on the Panama Canal under pressure from Trump and place them in “friendly” hands, the newspaper said.
With a net worth of at least $37 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Gianluigi Aponte and his wife, Rafaela Aponte-Diamant, appear to be among the world’s leaders.
MSC’s executive chairman and Rafaela have been photographed with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Gulf shipping operations come to a standstill near IRAN; US IS QUIETLY PREPARING FOR POSSIBLE STRIKE: ‘INCREASED RISK’
The Panamanian-flagged MSC Francesca ship docked in Long Beach, California, on April 16, 2025. (Efrain Morales/Reuters)
Rafaela is also reportedly related to Alexis Kohler (his mother is said to be her cousin), who served as Macron’s secretary general from May 2017 to April 14, 2025 and has been described as “Macron’s second brain.”
The Aponte family’s ship, with about 40 crew members on board, was taken by the Iranian navy to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas, sources told Reuters on Thursday.
Four crew members, including the captain, are from Montenegro, officials said, while the Croatian Foreign Ministry confirmed that two Croatian nationals are also on board.
MSC declined to comment, Reuters confirmed.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
The IRGC Navy claimed that both captured ships “operated without necessary permits.”
According to Lloyd’s list, the 2008-built MSC Francesca “normally operates in service between the US West Coast, Asia and the Gulf of the Middle East.”
