Mystery Grows as Denmark Continues to Detain Iranian Boxhip
Four weeks after stopping a containership that was suspected of not being correctly registered, Danish authorities continue to hold the vessel but are declining requests for information. The ship was reportedly searched and underwent a Port State inspection, and on Wednesday, March 18, observers spotted the ship on the move, being relocated to another Danish port.
The containership Nora (37,100 dwt) was anchored off Denmark in mid-February, when the Danish authorities detained the ship on suspicion that it was operating under a false flag. The Danish Maritime Authority reported that the vessel stated it was under the Comoros as its flag State. The Comoros, however, informed the Danish Maritime Authority that the ship was not registered in its registry.
On February 15, the ship’s registered owners were suddenly changed to a company in Iran, and it declared it had been sailing under the Iranian flag since the first of the month. The ship had previously, in 2025, also claimed to be registered in Aruba, which was believed to be another false flag.
Three weeks ago, the Danish Maritime Authority told The Maritime Executive, “The ship is detained until a flag state provides documentation to the Danish Maritime Authority that the ship is registered and fully certified.”
The Danish Maritime Authority also reported that it carried out a Port State control inspection of the ship on February 19. It was the first recorded since 2022, but it reported that no significant safety deficiencies were found. However, it said that the ship was still not fully certified, and the detention was therefore being maintained.
The ship had been held at anchor in the Kattegat, but without explanation, on March 5, it was moved into the Port of Aarhus. Media reports indicated the ship was being searched by the authorities, and TV 2 Denmark spotted a Hazmat truck entering the port. Later, the ship was moved to an anchorage off Aarhus.
Today, March 18, TV2 filmed the ship as it got underway around midday. It was being accompanied by a Danish patrol boat and two tugs. In the afternoon, it docked in the Danish port of Kalundborg.
Questions to the Danish Maritime Authority and the National Police were referred to the National Special Crime Unit (NSK) for updates. NSK responded, “We have an ongoing police operation associated with the ship,” and declined additional details.
The Nora was outbound in the Baltic from Saint Petersburg, Russia, which it had called at on several occasions in the past. Built in 2003 and with a capacity of 2,500 TEU, until last October, it was sailing under the name Cerus. In addition to not having a registered inspection since 2022, the vessel’s classification was withdrawn in August 2025 by Bureau Veritas, reportedly for “Non-compliance with conditions of class / recommendations.”
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The United States sanctioned the ship in July 2025 as part of a network including more than 50 vessels, it said, which were part of the vast shipping empire controlled by Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, the son of Ali Shamkhani, a top political advisor to the Supreme Leader of Iran. The father was reportedly killed along with the Supreme Leader last month at the start of hostilities with Iran. The U.S. asserted last year that the fleet of ships controlled by Hossein was transporting oil and petroleum products from Iran and Russia, as well as other cargo, to buyers around the world, generating tens of billions of dollars in profit.
Top photo of Cerus in 2022 by Ida - courtesy of VesselFinder