Ofac targets ‘shadow fleet’ tankers, STS operators, and Iran’s oil minister in latest sanctions
More than a dozen vessels were sanctioned by Ofac on Thursday, including three tugs, and a VLCC recently sold for recycling
The US has announced its third round of sanctions against Iran since the Trump administration restored its ‘maximum pressure’ aimed at slashing Tehran’s oil exports. The move targeted ‘shadow fleet’ tankers and a trio of tugs that assisted in STS operations
THE US sanctioned Iran’s oil minister Mohsen Paknejad and 30 vessels and entities on Thursday as the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign cracked on.
The move marked the third round of sanctions since Trump took office in January, and added 2.1m dwt of vessels to a growing list of blacklisted tankers.
The US Office of Foreign Assets Control said the sanctions “apply further pressure on the ‘shadow fleet’ and other vessels upon which Iran depends to deliver its oil to the People’s Republic of China, advancing [the] United States’ commitment to reduce Iran’s oil exports to zero”.
Among the vessels targeted were tankers that lifted Iranian oil that was in long-term storage in Dalian, China, according to Ofac.
In addition to nine “shadow fleet” tankers, the US State Department also targeted three tugs that US-based advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran said assisted in ship-to-ship transfers in the waters off Singapore, a key hub for transhipment of Iranian crude.
“Designating the tugboats that assist in these illicit oil transfers sends a clear message: every link in Iran’s sanctions evasion network is under scrutiny,” said Claire Jungman, UANI’s chief of staff.
“Specifically, Malili (IMO: 9179921) assisted in a STS transfer with the National Iranian Tanker Company vessel Sobar (IMO: 9221970) and NITC vessel Dune (IMO: 9569712) this week,” she told Lloyd’s List.
The move to sanction the three Indonesia-flagged tugs and their Singapore-based operators indicates the US’s willingness to apply pressure on third countries as part of its pressure campaign.
“The Iranian regime continues to use the proceeds from the nation’s vast oil resources to advance its narrow, alarming self-interests at the expense of the Iranian people,” said US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
“Treasury will fight and disrupt any attempts by the regime to fund its destabilising activities and further its dangerous agenda.”
One of the vessels sanctioned on Thursday is the dark fleet* very large crude carrier, Itaugua (IMO: 9102277). The VLCC was reportedly sold for recycling in late December and is currently anchored off Chittagong, likely awaiting to be scrapped.
It was not immediately clear if the designation would complicate its demolition.
* Lloyd’s List defines a tanker as part of the dark fleet if it is aged 15 years or over, anonymously owned and/or has a corporate structure designed to obfuscate beneficial ownership discovery, solely deployed in sanctioned oil trades, and engaged in one or more of the deceptive shipping practices outlined in US State Department guidance issued in May 2020. The figures exclude tankers tracked to government-controlled shipping entities such as Russia’s Sovcomflot, or Iran’s National Iranian Tanker Co, and those already sanctioned.
