THE pace of designations on Iran-trading liquefied petroleum gas carriers picked up in July as the US Office of Foreign Assets Control and the State Department cracked down on key players in Iran’s oil and petrochemical exports and facilitators of the trades.

Seven LPG tankers, including five very large gas carriers, were designated in separate actions in the beginning and the end of last month, bringing the total of LPG carriers sanctioned so far this year to 10. One of the vessels designated in July, the VLGC Kanti (IMO: 9282106), was the third-most prolific Iran lifter in 2025, according to data from commodities analytics provider Vortexa.

Meanwhile, at least seven LPG carriers have joined the shadow LPG fleet* so far this year, bringing it to a total of 112 vessels, of which 30 are designated by the US. The 82 non-sanctioned vessels include 44 VLGCs, 11 medium gas carriers, and 27 SGCs.

Loadings of Iranian liquefied petroleum gas fell to their lowest levels so far this year in July, although volumes through last month were still slightly up year over year, an analysis cargo data from Vortexa and Lloyd’s List Intelligence data showed.

The monthly loading of nearly 700,000 tonnes were the lowest level since October 2024 and were driven primarily by reduced shipments to China, the world’s biggest LPG importer and Iran’s biggest customer.

While loadings in Iran dropped in July, arrivals of suspected Iranian-origin cargoes remained high, with 1.1m tonnes discharged last month, the analysis showed.

The rise in US designations of LPG carriers, although not targeting the sector specifically, comes amid an increasing focus on Iran’s non-crude exports as part of the Trump administration’s maximum pressure campaign on the Islamic Republic.

Ofac highlighted the fleet ferrying Iranian LPG in an updated sanctions advisory in April. Shortly after, the US designated a sprawling LPG network linked to an Iranian businessman and his son.

So far in 2025, the US has designated nine Iran-trading LPG carriers of some 350,000 dwt, plus Tinos I (IMO: 9969821), a VLGC owned by the Iranian businessman designated in April that has been stranded off Houston since arriving there on its maiden voyage nearly 14 months ago.

The 10 designations so far this year compare with a total of 13 LPG carriers designated in 2024, although two of those were small gas carriers that were linked to terrorist group Hezbollah but were not trading in Iran.

Sanctioned vessels continue to find employment

While US sanctions may complicate logistics for shipowners and traders, sanctioned vessels typically continue trading.

The VLGC Astra (IMO: 9350422) was designated by Ofac in 2024 but nonetheless ferried close to 190,000 tonnes of Iranian LPG from January to July, making it the fourth-highest lifter during that period.

Some vessels that were recently sanctioned almost immediately turned to Houthi oil trades, which has emerged as an employment avenue for sanctioned vessels in recent months.

Medium gas carrier Vina (IMO: 9157478) was designated in early July while ballasting back from Sri Lanka. After picking up a cargo while manipulating its AIS in the Middle East Gulf — a common tactic to conceal loadings of Iranian cargoes — it sailed to the Houthi-controlled port of Ras Isa in Yemen. Prior to this, Vina’s last visit to Ras Isa was in February 2024.

Similarly, SGC Crave (IMO: 9045807), sanctioned at the same time as Vina, is currently anchored off Ras Isa waiting to make its debut visit to the port.

Oil trade in Houthi-held Ras Isa has gone increasingly dark in recent months amid the US’s re-designation of the Yemeni faction as a foreign terrorist organisation in March and the subsequent ban on discharges of oil and petroleum products in Houthi-held ports.

Likely as a result of mounting sanctions, there has been an increase in arrivals of vessels sanctioned by the US, UK, EU or a combination of the three to Ras Isa in recent months, while more vessels have also been observed calling at the port with their AIS switched off, presumably to avoid being designated.

Meanwhile, Tehran continues to be the primary supplier of LPG to the Houthis, with nearly all cargoes since the Yemeni faction began their Red Sea attacks likely originating in Iran.

* Lloyd’s List defines an LPG carrier as being part of the LPG Shadow Fleet if it engages in one or more deceptive shipping practices indicating that it is involved in transporting sanctioned LPG or other commodities, or if it is sanctioned by the US, UK, or EU.