U.S. Sanctions Big Network of Small Tankers for Moving Iranian Oil

 

The U.S. Treasury has sanctioned a Dubai shipowner with a fleet of nearly 30 tankers for allegedly carrying Iranian oil to market. 

The Trump administration has reinstituted a campaign of "maximum pressure" on Iranian oil exports in an attempt to convince Tehran to halt its nuclear program and cease financing destabilizing activities in the Mideast. The Iranian government is the primary foreign sponsor of a range of anti-American, anti-Israeli groups in Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, Yemen and Iraq, and Iranian oil revenue underpins these activities. Sanctions enforcement targeting the Iran-facing fleet is intended to undercut this activity and force Tehran to negotiate (talks are just beginning in Oman). 

Iran's oil is heavily sanctioned, but it is a favorite feedstock among independent Chinese refiners. Using black-market shipping networks, Iranian brokers have had little difficulty in arranging deliveries to China, primarily through STS transfers and low quality "shadow fleet" tonnage.

Jugwinder Singh Brar, an Indian national, owns Prime Tankers LLC and Glory International FZ LLC, both based in the UAE; and Global Tankers Pvt Ltd. and B and P Solutions Pvt Ltd, both based in India. According to the Treasury, Brar's Handysize fleet provides a critical service for Iran's state oil company by helping to conceal the origins of its crude. Treasury alleges that his ships conduct STS transfers off Iraq, Iran, the UAE and Oman to load Iranian petroleum, then deliver it to third-party traders who blend it with other oil supplies from non-sanctioned nations. With fake bills of lading, this oil then trades on the international market as "legitimate" crude. The lightering operations are complex and can take days to complete, according to the Treasury; they are typically conducted using fake AIS transmissions or with AIS turned off in an attempt to conceal the activity.

Some of the vessels in Brar's fleet that are known to carry Iranian petroleum have also made "frequent port calls" at oil terminals in India, according to the Treasury.   

“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 destabilizing activities,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent in a statement. “The United States remains focused on disrupting all elements of Iran’s oil exports, particularly those who seek to profit from this trade.”