US sanctions first vessels for trading with Houthis after Ofac deadline
Three vessels designated for unloading in Ras Isa after the April 4 deadline, says Ofac
The US sanctioned an LPG carrier and two tankers for discharging cargoes in Houthi-controlled ports after the April 4 deadline it announced in March
THE US blacklisted three vessels and their owners on Monday for delivering liquefied petroleum gas and refined products to Houthi-controlled ports, following through with its warning against any trades with the Houthis.
The US Office of Foreign Assets Control said the three vessels discharged their cargoes after April 4, the deadline announced by Ofac last month after which oil transactions involving the Houthis were prohibited.
All three discharged cargoes earlier this month in the Houthi-controlled port of Ras Isa, which was heavily damaged by US air strikes on April 17 that the Houthi-affiliated Yemen News Agency said killed 74 and injured 171 people.
Other vessels that also discharged past the deadline were not designated at this time.
Transactions with the Houthis pertaining to discharges of petroleum products were authorised under a general licence issued by the Biden administration early last year, but the Trump administration tightened these regulations last month and prohibited them. The administration provided an exemption for cargoes discharged by April 4, as long as the cargoes were loaded prior to March 5.
Ofac said the Houthis use the revenue from sale of petroleum products to fund their aggression.
“The Houthis control the strategic Red Sea ports of Hodeidah, Ras Isa and Al-Saleef, funnelling millions of dollars derived from port revenue and the seizure of refined petroleum products imported through these ports to fund their reckless attack campaign against US interests and those of our allies in the region,” said Ofac.
“The group sells refined petroleum products delivered through these ports at exorbitant prices on Yemen’s black market, which enables Houthi operatives to purchase military materials, creates an artificial shortage of essential goods for average Yemenis, and fuels rampant corruption among Houthi leaders.”
The three blacklisted vessels are Panama-flagged tankers Maisan (IMO: 9289776) and White Whale (IMO: 9230426), and San Marino-flagged medium gas carrier Tulip BZ (IMO: 9014420).
Ofac said Maisan was “previously managed by a company which was one of the top players in the shadow tanker fleet involved in the export of Russian crude oil and petroleum products in the face of Western sanctions”.
Maisan was previously associated with infamous dark fleet* owner Gatik and made headlines when it was detained in Belgium in the summer of 2023 under its old name Galatia.
Meanwhile, Tulip BZ has also been used to “transport petroleum products on behalf of Iran”.
“Operating under its former name, Gas Line, the Tulip BZ vessel was used to transport petrochemical products on behalf of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps,” said Ofac.
Lloyd’s List has previously reported how the Houthis came to rely almost exclusively on Iran for LPG imports after they began their campaign against commercial shipping in the Red Sea some 18 months ago.
Tulip BZ was named Gas Line between August 2012 and March 2021, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence data. It has since been renamed Hamburg DW and ST.Cudi before becoming Tulip BZ late last year.
Tulip BZ, Maisan and White Whale were identified as property in which Marshall Islands-registered Zaas Shipping & Trading Company, Mauritius-registered Bagsak Shipping Incorporated and Marshall Islands-registered Great Success Shipping Company respectively, have an interest.
* 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.
