THE US will allow certain transactions in connection with Tinos I (IMO: 9969821), the very large gas carrier that has been anchored off Houston for almost a year and was sanctioned by the US last month, including a potential sale of the vessel.

The authorisations are pursuant to a general licence issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control on Tuesday, and include transactions necessary for the safe docking of Tinos I in port, the health and safety of the crew, provisions of necessary services like shipmanagement and insurance, and any emergency repairs or environmental mitigation or protection activities.

The potential sale of Tinos is authorised, “provided the net proceeds of the sale be placed into a blocked interest-bearing account at a US financial institution”, according to the licence, which lists the transactions permitted in connection with a potential sale.

Tinos I was sanctioned on April 22 as part of an Ofac action against Iranian businessman Seyed Assadolah Emamjomeh and his network of companies in Iran, the UK and the United Arab Emirates. Emajome’s son, Meisam, was also designated.

The 2024-built VLGC is operated by Dubai-based Pearl Petrochemical FZE, which was owned by the senior Emamjomeh until he passed ownership to his son in October 2024, according to Ofac.

A Lloyd’s List investigation published in November 2023 detailed how people and companies in Emamjomeh’s orbit were linked with a fleet of ageing gas carriers that shipped hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian LPG.

While permitting the provision of essential services to allow Tinos I and its crew to continue operating safely is unsurprising, especially with the ship being anchored off US shores, the authorisation of a potential sale is an interesting development that could allow the owners to cut some of their losses and end the newly-built vessel’s state of limbo.

Calls for forfeiture

New York-based advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran has called on the US government to seize the vessel. The US has in the past seized Iranian oil cargoes and sold them for the benefit of victims of terrorism, but it has never seized and sold a ship, which presents a different set of challenges.

The Trump administration might be apprehensive to take such a bold step as Iran in the past has responded to cargo forfeitures by seizing ships in the Middle East Gulf. While US president Donald Trump has been ratcheting up sanctions on Iran as part of his “maximum pressure” campaign, his administration is also in talks with Tehran over a new nuclear deal, and he has signalled his reluctance to escalate militarily with the Islamic Republic.