A SHIPOWNER and his fleet of over two dozen tankers were blacklisted by the US on Thursday for shipping Iranian commodities, two days before officials from Washington and Tehran are slated to hold indirect talks in Oman on a new nuclear deal.

The designations, which came from both the Office of Foreign Assets Control and the State Department, added 29 tankers and one anchor-handling tug totalling nearly 950,000m dwt to the blocked tonnage list. Ofac’s action targeted mostly smaller tankers, while the State Department’s targets included two very large crude carriers, as well as a storage terminal in China and three shipping companies.

At the heart of Ofac’s designations was Capt Jugwinder Singh Brar, an Indian national and United Arab Emirates resident whom US treasury secretary Scott Bessent dubbed “unscrupulous”. Ofac said that Brar “owns, operates or manages” a fleet of nearly 30 tankers through several entities. The tankers are mostly “handysize tankers that stick to coastal waters”.

According to Ofac, Brar “has coordinated with Houthi financial official Sa’id al-Jamal’s illicit shipping associates on sanctions evasion tactics, specifically the use of smaller vessels in lieu of large oil tankers to obfuscate Iranian oil smuggling in and around the Persian Gulf and Khor al Zubair, Iraq”.

The agency said Brar’s vessels were observed manipulating their automatic identification system and engaging in “high-risk” STS patterns in the waters off Iraq, Iran, the UAE and Oman. The vessels blend the Iranian oil or fuel with oil or fuel from other countries and produce falsified shipping documents that obfuscate the cargoes’ Iranian origin, allowing them to reach international destinations, Ofac explained.

The agency said Brar has also “likely transported Iranian petroleum products for his own personal profit”, and that “many” of his tankers known to have carried Iranian oil “make frequent port calls at oil and gas terminals in India”.

Claire Jungman, chief of staff at advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran, said Ofac’s focus on the role that smaller tankers play in Iran’s oil trades, as well as its targeting of an Indian businessman, were notable.

“This is one of the first times Ofac has drawn attention to how handysize vessels are used in prolonged ship-to-ship transfers to build up a single export cargo — revealing the sheer complexity and patience behind Iran’s smuggling operations,” she told Lloyd’s List.

“This action also breaks new ground by exposing the role of India-based companies in enabling Iran’s illicit oil trade. While previous designations have targeted facilitators in the Middle East Gulf, China and Southeast Asia, this is a pointed signal toward India-based maritime actors who are providing operational cover for the regime.”

She continued, “These designations also draw overdue attention to blending schemes in places like Khor al Zubair, Iraq, where Iranian barrels are mixed with Iraqi-origin product to secure a false identity.”

A recent Lloyd’s List analysis found that over half of liquefied petroleum gas cargoes claiming Iraqi origin may actually be Iranian.

The 28 vessels blacklisted by Ofac on Thursday were identified as blocked property of Brar or companies Ofac said he controls or owns, including UAE-based Prime Tankers LLC and Glory International FZ-LLC, and India-based Global Tankers Private Limited. Ofac also sanctioned Brar’s India-based petrochemical sales company B and P Solutions Private Limited.

Brar was sanctioned for “operating in the petroleum sector of the Iranian economy”.

“The Iranian regime relies on its network of unscrupulous shippers and brokers like Brar and his companies to enable its oil sales and finance its destabilising activities,” said Bessent. “The United States remains focused on disrupting all elements of Iran’s oil exports, particularly those who seek to profit from this trade.”

Prime Tankers has been approached for comment via email after hours on Thursday.

State Department designations

Meanwhile, the State Department meanwhile targeted two very large crude carriers, a Chinese crude oil and petroleum products storage terminal in Zhoushan, China, and three shipmanagement firms.

The two VLCCs are Amor (IMO: 9182291) and Virgo (IMO: 9236250). Amor was the top shipper of Iranian oil in 2024, according to UANI. The VLCC was reportedly sold for recycling at the end of last year but apparently was not yet ready to retire as it kept plying its old Iranian trades rather than hitting the beaches.

Virgo did not make UANI’s top 10 list of prolific Iranian oil shippers in 2024 but nonetheless holds a place in the dark fleet’s history books. The VLCC loaded a cargo in Kharg Island in early 2022 and transferred it to the suezmax Suez Rajan (IMO: 9524475), now St Nikolas, which was ultimately seized by the US, leading to retaliatory hijackings by Iran. St Nikolas itself was seized by Iran in early 2024 and is still in Iranian waters.

In addition to the VLCCs, the State Department designated Guanghsa Zhoushan Energy Group, which owns and operates an oil and products terminal on Huangzeshan Island in Zhoushan, China, that is “directly connected through the Huangzeshan–Yushan Under Sea Oil Pipeline to a nearby teapot refinery”.

According to a statement, Guanghsa Zhoushan knowingly purchased Iranian crude on several occasions, including in 2021 when the US-sanctioned National Iranian Tanker Company VLCC Snow (IMO: 9569619) discharged over 2m barrels of Iranian oil at its terminal. More recently, the US-sanctioned suezmax Aventus I (IMO: 9280873) discharged about 1m barrels of Iranian crude at its terminal, the State Department alleged.

Lastly, the State Department designated India-based Marziya Shipping (OPC) Private Limited and Suriname-based Rising Phoenix Provider NV, Virgo’s technical manager and registered owner, respectively, and UAE-based Valiant Marine Ventures FZE, Amor’s commercial manager.

Luanda 1 (IMO: 9372705), Global Genesis (IMO: 9451501), Ocean Princess 1 (IMO: 8413306), Simran (IMO: 9136644), Global Dominance (IMO: 9672301), Global Ace (IMO: 9190078), Global Beauty (IMO: 9221267), Global Elegance (IMO: 9232955), Global Star (IMO: 9164500), Mirage (IMO: 9254422), Chil 1 (IMO: 9171498), Global Dignity (IMO: 9309227), Global Asphalt (IMO: 9005338), Global Eagle (IMO: 9422847), Global Falcon (IMO: 9399167), Global Hawk (IMO: 9422859), Global Rani (IMO: 9136113), Global Peace (IMO: 9555199), Global Angel (IMO: 9311309), Global Crest (IMO: 9113094), Global Emerald (IMO: 8982888), Global Everest (IMO: 9125724), Global Peak (IMO: 9125712), Glory Star 1 (IMO: 9463528), Harmony (IMO: 9397030), Purna (IMO: 9176656), Global Maharani (IMO: 9546708), Nadiya (IMO: 9118745).