A purported video showing Iranian commandos boarding a commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz has gone viral, even as Tehran confirmed the seizure of two ships in the strategically critical waterway.
A post by Polymarket Intel on X shared visuals that appear to show special forces from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy storming the Liberia-flagged container ship MSC Epaminondas.
In the video, commandos are seen approaching the vessel at speed, climbing aboard using ladders, and taking control before steering it towards the Iranian coast.
IRGC Navy special forces board Liberia-flagged container ship MSC Epaminondas in the Strait of Hormuz. pic.twitter.com/5NQHmaLdEP
— Polymarket Intel (@PolymarketIntel) April 23, 2026
The vessel was among two ships intercepted by the IRGC in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, according to multiple media reports, amid heightened tensions in one of the world's busiest energy transit routes.
The Epaminondas, which was en route to Mundra Port in Gujarat's Kachch district, was detained along with the Panama-flagged MSC Francesca, Iranian state media reported, citing ship-tracking data.
“The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval force this morning identified and stopped in the Strait of Hormuz two violating ships,” the IRGC said in a statement on Wednesday.
“The two offending ships... were seized by the IRGC's naval forces and directed to the Iranian coast.”
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According to a report by Al Jazeera, Iran alleged that the vessels were operating without authorisation, repeatedly violated maritime regulations, manipulated navigational systems, and attempted to transit the strait covertly, actions it said endangered maritime security.
Tehran also claimed that MSC Francesca had links to Israel, though that assertion could not be independently verified.
Data from MarineTraffic showed both vessels positioned near the Iranian coast on Wednesday. The Epaminondas, a Liberia-flagged ship owned by a Greek firm, had departed from Jebel Ali in Dubai and was headed for India.
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