Container vessel MSC Antonia runs aground in the Red Sea

Suspected GPS spoofing and jamming contributed to the grounding of the MSC Antonia near Jeddah

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by Manal Barakat, SeaNewsEditor

Container vessel MSC Antonia has run aground in the Red Sea while en route to the Port of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The incident occurred over the weekend and is suspected to be linked to GPS spoofing. This technique involves the deliberate transmission of false Global Positioning System signals, potentially causing vessels to deviate from their intended course.

According to seaexplorer data, MSC Antonia remained stationary in the Red Sea near Jeddah.

The MSC boxship has a capacity of 6969 TEU, and it operates on the carrier's West Mediterranean–Red Sea service, which includes the ports of Jeddah, Port Said, and Valencia in its routing.

Due to the geopolitical tension in the region, reports of incidents of GPS jamming in the Red Sea have increased in recent years.

Container vessel MSC Antonia runs aground in the Red Sea