The container ship MSC Antonia (85,760 DWT) has been grounded in the Red Sea for several days, and growing uncertainty surrounds the vessel’s position and the cause of the incident. Increasing speculation suggests the ship may be a victim of GPS signal interference, as multiple reports have indicated widespread disruptions in the Red Sea that could mislead vessels off course or confuse their actual positions.

According to MSC Antonia’s schedule, the vessel was en route between Jeddah and King Abdullah Port in Saudi Arabia. However, AIS tracking on MarineTraffic showed the ship stopping at Port Sudan and heading to Jeddah.

Online videos show tugboats attempting to move the vessel, which appears anchored at an unusual angle.

MSC Antonia is 304 meters long with a capacity of 7,000 TEUs and is currently grounded roughly 100 nautical miles from Jeddah. The vessel operates on MSC’s West Mediterranean–Red Sea service, which includes regular calls at Jeddah. According to maritime tracking platform VesselFinder, the ship remained in place as of Tuesday morning.

Noted industry analyst Lars Jensen, CEO of Vespucci Maritime, commented on the grounding in an online post, writing: “The vessel’s track on AIS appears very erratic, most likely due to GPS interference recently reported by UK maritime authorities.”

On May 9, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) issued a warning that several ships had experienced prolonged disruptions and electronic interference in a wide area between Jeddah and Port Sudan in the Red Sea. The notice warned that such interference “affected navigation systems and required vessels to rely on alternative methods.”

Ami Daniel, co-founder and CEO of predictive analytics company Windward, described the situation as a “clear and present danger” to the shipping industry. He warned that “jamming capabilities have significantly increased,” citing Windward data that shows the average distance ships stray when AIS systems are disrupted jumped from 600 km in Q4 2024 to 6,300 km in Q1 2025. Windward has recorded GPS interference incidents in areas ranging from the Baltic Sea to the Eastern Mediterranean, Black Sea, Red Sea, Persian Gulf, Gulf of Aden, Sudanese coastline, and waters off China.

Records show that MSC Antonia was built in 2009, registered in Liberia, and has operated under MSC since 2018. Following a port state inspection in Spain earlier this year, the ship received a clean report in mid-April with no noted deficiencies. However, the vessel made headlines in August 2024 when it lost 46 containers and suffered damage to 305 others during severe winter weather off the coast of South Africa, forcing it to divert to Cape Town for recovery.