News / Red Sea: Aries crew free, but more escalation on the way as box ships flee

Photo: VesselFinder

Iran claims to have released the crew of Aries, who have been held captive for just short of three weeks.

The 15,000-teu MSC container vessel and its crew of Indian, Filipino, Pakistani, Russian and Estonian nationals were taken captive on 13 April, with video footage from the vessel showing Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) marines rappelling onto the deck from a helicopter.

Iran had been helping coordinate the actions of its proxies, Hezbollah and the Houthis, behind the scenes; making Aries its first ...