MSC Antonia Grounded Near Jeddah for Third Day Amid Growing GPS Spoofing Concerns
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – May 14, 2025 — The 7,000 TEU containership MSC Antonia remains grounded off the coast of Jeddah in the Red Sea for a third consecutive day, as new evidence points toward GPS jamming and spoofing as the likely cause of the incident. Maritime analysts and vessel tracking data suggest the ship may have fallen victim to a deliberate electronic interference attack, one of an increasing number of such incidents in the region and globally.
The Liberia-flagged vessel ran aground near the Eliza Shoals, west of Jeddah, late last week. Satellite imagery and automatic identification system (AIS) tracking data from MarineTraffic indicate erratic movements consistent with GPS spoofing, where a ship’s navigation system is tricked into calculating a false location. Maritime intelligence company Windward has published an analysis outlining the spoofing pattern that led the MSC Antonia off its intended course and onto the shoals.
Spoofing, a form of cyber attack that misleads a ship’s onboard navigation by transmitting false GPS signals, has become increasingly common in strategic maritime corridors. The Red Sea, a vital artery for global trade, has seen a troubling rise in electronic interference, with the Antonia incident adding to a growing list of navigational anomalies and cyber-related disruptions.
Windward’s recently released Q1 2025 maritime threat report revealed a dramatic increase in AIS signal jumps, with affected vessels reporting location shifts of up to 6,300 kilometres—ten times the previous quarter’s average. The report characterises this escalation as indicative of more powerful jamming tools, potentially deployed by state or state-sponsored actors.
“This isn’t just a technical malfunction—it’s a geopolitical flashpoint,” said a Windward analyst who spoke on condition of anonymity. “The spoofing patterns we observed align with deliberate interference, and given the strategic importance of the Red Sea, this raises serious concerns for the global shipping community.”
The implications extend beyond the MSC Antonia. A joint 2024 report titled The Great Disconnect by Thetius, CyberOwl, and maritime law firm HFW highlighted the increasing vulnerability of commercial vessels to cyber threats. Among its most alarming case studies was the 2019 seizure of the Stena Impero tanker by Iranian forces, after its GPS was spoofed to cross inadvertently into Iranian waters. The crew was detained for months in a high-profile standoff that demonstrated the geopolitical risks tied to maritime cyber insecurity.
According to the report, tools capable of launching basic GPS spoofing attacks are widely accessible and cost under $100. With state-level resources, experts warned, the ability to spoof navigation data across entire maritime regions is not only feasible—it is already occurring.
Despite the mounting evidence, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), owner of the Antonia, has not issued a public statement. Splash, the maritime news outlet that first reported the grounding, confirmed it had reached out to MSC for comment but had not received a response by publication time.
This is not the first time the MSC Antonia has made headlines. In August 2024, the vessel lost several containers during heavy weather while sailing off the coast of South Africa, raising earlier questions about its resilience and operational procedures.
Efforts to refloat the ship are ongoing, with salvage teams assessing the damage and awaiting optimal tidal conditions. Meanwhile, maritime authorities are intensifying scrutiny of the area, with increased patrols and electronic countermeasure evaluations reportedly underway.
The incident underscores a growing vulnerability in global shipping infrastructure: as vessels become increasingly reliant on digital systems, the risk posed by cyber threats, particularly GPS manipulation, looms larger than ever. As the Antonia remains stranded, the maritime world is once again forced to confront the reality that cyber warfare has found a new front: the open sea.
