Rising tensions in the Strait of Hormuz intensified on April 22 as Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) seized two ships, a move analysts interpret as a retaliatory gesture against the United States. Notably, one of the vessels is associated with a prominent shipping lineage linked to former President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Footage broadcast by Iranian state television allegedly captures IRGC forces boarding the container ships in the strategic Strait, according to a Reuters report released on Thursday.
The MSC Francesca, one of the detained vessels, is owned by MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, a firm established by Italian billionaire Gianluigi Aponte and now operated by his two children, as reported by Fox News Digital.
“Around 20 heavily armed Iranians boarded the vessel,” a relative of a crew member on the MSC Francesca shared with Reuters. “The crew is under Iranian control, with restricted movement, but they are reportedly being treated well.”
Footage aired on Iranian state television on April 22, 2026, shows soldiers involved in the capture of the container ships MSC Francesca and Epaminondas in the Strait of Hormuz. (IRIB/Handout/Reuters)
“The ship is stationed 9 nautical miles off the Iranian coast. Discussions between MSC and Iranian authorities are underway, and our sailors are in good condition,” Montenegro’s maritime affairs minister, Filip Radulovic, informed state broadcaster RTCG.
Maritime intelligence firm Windward AI pointed to IRGC “tit-for-tat” tactics given the recent MSC vessel seizure.
This followed a U.S. naval blockade imposed on April 13, with Tehran warning of retaliation after U.S. forces also seized an Iranian vessel.
“The IRGC attacked three ships. It also captured and took in two of them — the MSC Francesca and the Epaminondas — while the Euphoria managed to get away,” Windward AI co-founder Ami Daniel told Fox News Digital.
Soldiers take part in the operation seizing the container ships MSC Francesca and Epaminondas in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian state TV April 22, 2026. (IRIB/Handout/Reuters)
“This is a ‘tit-for-tat’ exercise by the IRGC, which, along with the Houthis, has long claimed MSC is connected to Israel. MSC calls in Israel; however, so do all major liners.”
Diego Aponte, Gianluigi’s son, had been making “inroads with Trump’s circle,” Bloomberg reported April 13.
He also helped arrange a November 2025 White House meeting with Swiss business leaders that led to a preliminary deal to reduce the 39% tariffs imposed on Switzerland over the summer.
The MSC executive chairman has been photographed with French President Emmanuel Macron. (Reuters/Stephane Mahe)
Over the last year, MSC’s relationship with the White House also positioned father Gianluigi Aponte as a key player in a $19 billion deal with Li Ka-shing, as MSC and BlackRock moved to acquire two Panama Canal ports under pressure from Trump to place them in “friendly” hands, according to the outlet.
With a net worth of at least $37 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, it is Gianluigi Aponte and his wife, Rafaela Aponte-Diamant, who appear to mingle with world leaders.
The MSC executive chairman and Rafaela have been photographed with French President Emmanuel Macron.
The Panama-flagged MSC Francesca vessel docked in Long Beach, Calif., 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 was described as “Macron’s second brain.”
The Aponte family’s vessel, carrying about 40 crew members, was taken toward Iran’s port of Bandar Abbas by the Iranian navy, sources told Reuters Thursday.
Four crew members, including the captain, are from Montenegro, officials said, while Croatia’s foreign ministry confirmed two Croatian nationals are also aboard.
MSC declined to comment, Reuters confirmed.
The IRGC Navy claimed both vessels captured “were operating without the necessary permits.”
According to Lloyd’s List, the 2008-built MSC Francesca “normally operates in service between the U.S. West Coast, Asia and the Middle East Gulf.”
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