Iranian container ships conduct reconnaissance for Yemeni Houthis and are also involved in transporting weapons and their components to Syria and Russia.
To conceal their illicit activities, Iranian vessels use a commercial route through the port of Antwerp (Belgium). Shipping data analysis shows that six Iranian cargo ships (“Artam,” “Artenos,” “Azargoun,” “Daisy,” “Kashan,” and “Shiba”) called at the port of Latakia (Syria) at least 27 times between June 2022 and October 2024 while traveling between Iran and Antwerp. These ships delivered weapons under the guise of legally supplying commercial goods to European ports.
Currently, these six Iranian vessels can no longer dock in Antwerp due to sanctions. However, other Iranian ships are still allowed to enter Belgian ports.
The ships primarily followed a single route: Bandar Abbas (Iran’s largest port) – Suez Canal – Latakia (Syria, stopping for one to three days) – Constanța (Romania) – Ravenna (Italy) – Valencia, Bilbao (Spain) – Antwerp (Belgium). The typical declared imports from Iran to Antwerp included polyethylene, vegetable oil, ceramic products, and foodstuffs. Exports from Antwerp to Iran consisted of equipment used in beverage production, auto parts, textile processing machinery, and insulation materials.
The vessels belong to Iran’s Hafez Darya Arya Shipping (“HDS”), a subsidiary of the state-owned Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (“IRISL”). IRISL has ties to Iranian military structures and is under U.S. and EU sanctions. It is also linked to supplying weapons to Russia for its war against Ukraine. Notably, the ships Azargoun and Artam docked at Russia’s Novorossiysk port in January and February 2023.
Additionally, the ship Shiba is suspected of transmitting coordinates of international vessels to the Houthis. Shiba left Iran on July 23 but loitered in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea from August 2 to August 5, 2024. On August 3, Yemeni Houthis fired a missile at the Greek container ship Groton as it was passing through the Gulf of Aden. Similar incidents occurred on January 15, 2024, when the Gibraltar Eagle (U.S.) was struck, and on March 8, 2024, when the Propel Fortune (Singapore) was targeted.
