Pole Star Global comments on MSC vessel grounding after reported GPS jamming

MSC container vessel MSC ANTONIA is reported to have run aground around 100 nautical miles (nm) off the coast of Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia due to a GPS jamming incident.

In response to this developing story, Captain Steve Bomgardner, Vice President of Shipping and Offshore at Pole Star Global, offers the following analysis:

“I’ve seen firsthand how the surge in jamming, spoofing, and other AIS tampering has made our oceans more dangerous. A case like this was bound to happen sooner or later. I’m grateful that, on this occasion, every seafarer came through unharmed.

“In reviewing the data, we also concluded that the vessel’s AIS was subject to GPS jamming. This happens when a threat actor introduces fake signals which the GPS unit picks up as genuine, therefore giving the vessel’s crew an inaccurate picture of where they are. This instance highlights the need for good watch keeping and to raise awareness across the maritime community regarding the risks from electronic warfare.

"While most attacks we have seen in the past twelve months display sophisticated jamming by placing the vessel in a precise location, the jamming in this instance was unsophisticated. However, this reinforces the point that any form of electronic warfare, no matter how sophisticated, presents a danger to the very seafarers that our economies rely upon.”