The phenomenon GPS spoofing on the rise at multiple locations around the world and cyber attacks proving how easy it is to take control of a ship

The cargo Ship MSC Antonia has run aground in the Red Sea while en route to the Port of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. .Three days on from grounding off Jeddah , with vessel tracking showing the ship was likely the victim of GPS jamming.

Analysis from Windward, a maritime analytics firm, has highlighted the spoofing patterns that ended up with the ship aground near the Eliza Shoals west of Jeddah, with vessel tracking from MarineTraffic supporting this theory. GPS jamming in the Red Sea has been commonplace in recent years.

The phenomenon GPS spoofing

It seems that the phenomenon GPS spoofing on the rise at multiple locations around the world and cyber attacks proving how easy it is to take control of a ship, a report from by Thetius, CyberOwl and HFW, published last year, entitled The Great Disconnect, detailed many recent cyber incidents including how the Stena Impero tanker’s GPS was spoofed to force it to cross into Iranian waters unintentionally in 2019 with the ship and its crew then held for months.

The MSC Antonia

The MSC Antonia, with a capacity of 7,000 TEU, operates on MSC’s West Mediterranean–Red Sea service, which includes Jeddah among its scheduled ports of call..Built in 2009, the MSC Antonia sails under the flag of Liberia. It is noteworthy that the cargo ship MSC ANTONIA encountered heavy adverse sea conditions while sailing off East London, South Africa, on 28 August 2024.Unfortunately, a number of the containers were damaged or lost overboard off the coast of East London.

Related : MSC Houston V Lost 15 Containers Off Portugal 

The equipment required for basic GPS attacks costs less than $100

The equipment required for basic GPS attacks costs less than $100, the report warned while adding that with the resources of a nation-state, “a sophisticated spoof on an entire region or sea is not just a possibility, it is a reality”.Windward’s Q1 2025 report indicated that the average distance vessels “jump” to when their AIS is jammed grew dramatically from 600 km in Q4 2024 to 6,300 km in Q1 2025, representing a significant escalation in jamming capability.

Major container lines have largely rerouted Asia–Europe services to avoid the Red Sea due to ongoing security threats from Yemen’s Houthi rebels. However, regional services continue to operate in the area

Related : Attempts rescue the MSC Baltic III ship that ran aground in Canada

Agencies 

MSC Antonia , grounding off . ,Port of Jeddah ,Stena Impero tanker ,Yemen’s Houthi rebels , AIS ,  flag of Liberia.