On 2 January 2010, the
MV Asian Glory was hijacked by pirates 1,000 km off the
Horn of Africa. In late 2009 and early 2010, two of its ships (
St James Park and
MV Asian Glory) were captured by
Somali pirates. In 2012, ZM owned the
MSC Napoli, the container ship that ran into difficulty in the English Channel. According to a 2014 analysis conducted by
Globes, the companies of the Zodiac group generated together an operating profit of just over $1.5 billion in 2003–12, with an operating profit margin of 39%, and a 0.49% tax rate on profits. In July 2014,
Eyal Ofer, the principal of Zodiac Group, received an honorary life membership of the
Baltic Exchange for his contribution to shipping in the UK and global maritime trade. Later that year, he was named in the top 10 most influential people in the shipping industry according to
Lloyds List 2014.
Ship attacks Iran has persistently attacked various vessels and seized ships amidst political issues since 2019, and has targeted Zodiac Marine, the UK's largest ship owner. On 29 July 2021, the oil tanker
MT Mercer Street, managed by Zodiac, while travelling from
Tanzania to the
United Arab Emirates (UAE) with no cargo on board,
was attacked off the coast of
Oman. The US military announced that the drone had been produced in Iran. In November 2023, amid the
Gaza war, the
Central Park, a tanker ship owned by Zodiac Maritime, was attacked in the
Gulf of Aden by suspected
Somali pirates. On 13 April 2024, the
IRGC Navy seized
Portuguese-
flagged container ship
MSC Aries in the
Gulf of Oman off the Emirati port city of
Fujairah, steering the container ship through the
Strait of Hormuz. on the pretext of carrying harmful items, then "accused of having ties to Israel", detaining the ship's crew.
MSC Aries is leased by MSC from Gortal Shipping Inc., which is an affiliate of Zodiac. ==References==