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U.S. Targets Iran’s “Ghost Fleet” Sanctioning 17 Tankers and 10 Operators

Iranian oil tankers
U.S. went after Iran's "Ghost Fleet" sanctioning 17 tankers and the companies involved in the oil trade

Published Oct 11, 2024 6:29 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

The Biden administration announced today, October 11 that the United States is expanding sanctions on Iran’s petroleum and petrochemical sectors in response to Iran’s October 1 attack on Israel. The U.S. State Department and Treasury working in coordination said the actions intensify financial pressure on Iran, limiting the regime’s ability to earn critical energy revenues to undermine stability in the region and attack U.S. partners and allies. 

The Office of Foreign Assets Control, an agency within the U.S. Treasury Department designated 10 entities in multiple jurisdictions and identified 17 vessels as blocked property for their involvement in shipments of Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products in support of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and Triliance Petrochemical Co. The U.S. Department of State is also designating six entities and identifying six vessels as blocked property for knowingly engaging in a significant transaction for the purchase, acquisition, sale, transport, or marketing of petroleum or petroleum products from Iran. 

U.S. officials said collectively these actions target a significant portion of the shadow fleet of tankers and illicit operators that move the Iranian regime’s petroleum exports. NIOC was designated on October 26, 2020, for its financial support to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – Qods Force. Triliance was designated on January 23, 2020, for facilitating the sale of Iranian petroleum products from NIOC.

"In response to Iran’s attack on Israel, the United States is taking decisive action to further disrupt the Iranian regime’s ability to fund and carry out its destabilizing activity,” said Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen.  “Today’s sanctions target Iranian efforts to channel revenues from its energy industry to finance deadly and disruptive activity—including the development of its nuclear program, the proliferation of ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles, and support to regional terrorist proxies—with dangerous consequences for the region and the world. We will not hesitate to take further action to hold Iran accountable.”

The U.S. said Iran’s oil exports are enabled by a network of illicit shipping facilitators in multiple jurisdictions which, through obfuscation and deception, load and transport Iranian oil for sale to buyers in Asia. They included companies in the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, and Suriname, as well as shipping companies registered in the Marshall Islands, Liberia, and Panama.

They also included a broad range of tankers reported to have been involved in the transport and illegal transfer of Iranian oil. The U.S. reports said much of the oil had ultimately been delivered to refineries in China. (OFAC published a full list of the entities and vessels online.)

“The United States is committed to curtailing Iran’s sources of revenue for its malign activities. As long as Iran devotes its energy revenues to funding attacks on our allies, supporting terrorism around the world, and pursuing other destabilizing actions, we will continue to use all the tools at our disposal to hold it accountable.  These measures will be reinforced by ongoing close coordination with partners and allies to address and counter Iran’s actions,” said Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. 

Today’s action they reported was in the spirit of the Stop Harboring Iranian Petroleum Act (SHIP Act), enacted as a part of the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for the 2024 Fiscal Year, which imposes sanctions against foreign persons involved in the trade of petroleum and petroleum products originating in Iran. It was one of the most sweeping actions the U.S. has taken against Iran’s oil industry.