Iran says it will sell seized ships including MSC Francesca and Epaminondas as compensation
A judicial official said proceeds would go to fishermen and others harmed in the war; MSC Aries is also held
Iran intends to sell commercial ships it seized during the war and says are linked to the United States and Israel, using the proceeds to compensate people harmed by US attacks. Hassan Abdollianpour, head of the Iranian judiciary's Center for Lawyers, said in a television interview that the ships had been stopped in the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf for violations and seized under judicial rulings. Iran has sold seized oil cargoes as compensation before, but this would be its first attempt to sell the ships themselves.
He did not name the vessels. In April Iran attacked and stopped two containerships associated with MSC. MSC Francesca, built in 2008, is owned by MSC, which Iran frequently says is linked to Israel; she is 174,897 dwt with capacity for 11,668 teu. Epaminondas, built in 1998, is 94,769 dwt and 6,690 teu, Greek-owned and managed by Technomar Shipping, and was on charter to MSC.
Both are held near Bandar Abbas. Nearby lies MSC Aries, 158,097 dwt, held since April 2024 and owned by an affiliate of Zodiac Maritime, whose lead investor is Eyal Ofer.
Abdollianpour spoke at the fishing pier in Bandar Abbas, where he was inspecting damage with other experts as the first step in compensation claims. "To file an effective lawsuit and achieve a result, the first step is a detailed assessment and documentation of the damages," he said. He put the number of documented damage cases in the legal process at 537, across Bandar Abbas, Qeshm, Bandar Lengeh and Jask, with as many as 760 claims filed for fishing vessels and boats damaged in US attacks on the ports. More than 100 cases are being processed in the Tehran Revolutionary Court, where a special branch has been set up to hear them.
Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority has separately warned that ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz without its authorisation could face fines, detention or confiscation, and that there would be "consequences" for companies dealing with ships on its blacklist.
In 2024 Iran said it had seized a crude cargo from a Greek tanker chartered to Chevron and that a court had ordered it sold to compensate people harmed by US sanctions. The United States is now moving towards forfeiting the Iranian crude aboard three VLCCs it stopped under its blockade.
This story is part of the Maritime Briefing of 28 September 2026.
