US sanctions a dozen vessels for shipping Iranian petroleum products

Washington has sanctioned several vessels for illicit shipping of petroleum products on behalf of two previously sanctioned Iranian companies, National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and Triliance Petrochemical.

PHOTO: A crude oil tanker discharging crude oil to storage tanks. Getty Images

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has targeted Iran’s shadow fleet of tankers by sanctioning more than 20 vessels and 10 entities for shipping sanctioned Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products.

The sanctions come in response to Iran’s latest airstrike on Israel on 1 October, OFAC said. “These actions target a significant portion of the shadow fleet of tankers and illicit operators that move the Iranian regime’s petroleum exports,” OFAC argued.

The US treasury department has sanctioned UAE-based shipping firm Max Maritime and three vessels managed by the company, BENDIGO, CARNATIC, and SALVIA, for conducting multiple ship-to-ship transfers of Iranian oil with vessels affiliated with the previously sanctioned National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC).

BENDIGO and CARNATIC conducted “nearly a dozen ship-to-ship transfers of Iranian oil with NITC-affiliated vessels in 2023 alone,” OFAC said. “Much of this oil was later shipped to refineries in the PRC [China],” it added.

OFAC has also sanctioned oil tanker LUNA PRIME, which is managed by Hong Kong-based Cathay Harvest Marine. “The vessel also conducted a ship-to-ship transfer with a NITC vessel near Singapore to transport tens of thousands of metric tons of Iranian heavy crude oil,” it said.  

OFAC has sanctioned 19 more vessels and several other maritime companies for facilitating such shipments.  

By Aparupa Mazumder

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