Iran Ship Seizures Show ‘Weaponization of Trade’ in Hormuz, Xeneta Warns

Iran’s reported seizure of two MSC containerships in the Strait of Hormuz is the latest sign the crisis in the strategic waterway has evolved beyond a shipping disruption into what one analyst is calling the “weaponization of trade.”

Hours after President Donald Trump extended the U.S.-Iran ceasefire while maintaining a naval blockade, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was reported to have seized the 11,660-TEU MSC Francesca and the 6,690-TEU MSC Epaminondas, escalating concerns over retaliation against commercial shipping.

“This is the weaponization of trade,” said Peter Sand of Xeneta.

“The extended ceasefire can be seen as a positive step, but if it brings a calming of conflict in the skies, that has not reached the water because there is no safe and free passage through the Strait of Hormuz,” Sand said. “Both sides recognize the pain they can inflict with a bottleneck in Hormuz.”

The two vessels were reportedly among six MSC ships that transited Hormuz over the weekend while switching off AIS transponders, with the remaining four reaching safer waters.

The seizures also revive memories of the 2024 capture of the MSC Aries, when IRGC commandos boarded the Israeli-linked containership in a helicopter-borne raid near Hormuz and diverted it into Iranian waters — one of the most dramatic merchant vessel seizures in years and a clear signal Tehran was willing to act on threats against commercial shipping. 

The latest incidents came just as some shipping data had begun to hint at a tentative rebound in transits.

According to Xeneta data, Saturday saw 43 merchant ship transits, including 10 containerships, through the Strait — the highest daily tally since conflict erupted in late February and well above the roughly 14-vessel daily average seen over the past four weeks.

But that still represents only a fraction of normal traffic through a waterway that typically handles about 20% of global oil flows.

“What we saw over the weekend was a spike in transits, possibly in response to hopes the Strait was reopening,” Sand said. “But the latest seizures make clear, even an ‘open’ Strait of Hormuz is not a safe Strait of Hormuz.”

Even before Wednesday’s reported seizures, vessel traffic had been shaped by selective passage, overlapping U.S. interdictions, and what many shipowners describe as a de facto Iranian permission regime governing access through Tehran-designated transit corridors.

The incidents come amid intensifying U.S. maritime pressure. Two U.S. interdictions have now been confirmed in recent days, including the seizure of an Iranian-flagged cargo ship over the weekend and Tuesday’s boarding of the sanctioned tanker Tifani in the Bay of Bengal.

The developments drew a sharp rebuke from Arsenio Dominguez, who condemned the attacks and reported seizures as unacceptable and renewed calls for freedom of navigation to be restored.

“The attacks on and seizures of commercial ships are unacceptable,” Dominguez said. “I once again call for these reckless actions to cease and for any ships and innocent seafarers to be released immediately.”

Dominguez warned the worsening security situation is placing merchant crews in intolerable conditions, citing a conversation with a stranded mariner in the Persian Gulf who described missile threats overhead, rationing onboard supplies, and difficulty communicating with family ashore.

His remarks also put a humanitarian spotlight back on the roughly 20,000 seafarers IMO has said remain stranded aboard some 3,200 vessels affected by the Hormuz crisis.

“De-escalation, meaningful actions and restoring the freedom of navigation is the only way forward,” he said.

His comments come as the IMO is working on an evacuation plan an evacuation plan ships and mariners who have been stuck in the Persian Gulf since U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran began more than seven weeks ago.

Despite the latest escalation, Xeneta said there are early signs some supply chain workarounds are beginning to stabilize.

Container spot rates from China to Jeddah — a key hub in overland “land bridge” routes feeding cargo into Gulf markets cut off by Hormuz disruptions — have fallen 11% during April to $4,969 per FEU, though still remain 63% above levels seen before the conflict began.

The easing suggests emergency routing solutions are functioning, at least for some cargoes.

“We see the first signs of freight rates coming down from the rapid rise in the aftermath of conflict,” Sand said, pointing to congestion in Jeddah but also evidence alternative supply chains are adapting.

Still, he cautioned land bridge solutions remain constrained and cannot fully substitute for open maritime access through Hormuz, particularly for high-volume or specialized cargo.

The deeper concern is that the crisis may be evolving beyond disrupted navigation into a deliberate use of trade flows themselves as leverage.

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