Not every downward price movement is caused by shorts. Short interest is just a sign of market sentiment.
As I said a month ago, the shipping industry has taken a hit, and there are no signs currently that the situation is going to improve.
Another reason why ZIM’s price continues to plummet is due to the fact that many ZIM investors were income investors. And ZIM went from paying generous dividends to no dividends at all. Unsurprisingly, many income investors have exited.
It is still possible to see this as a very long term investment, but the opportunity costs are huge. Continuing to take losses in a bull market might turn out to be a very costly mistake even in the long term.