Washington adds more vessels to its sanctions list

The US has sanctioned two more tanker vessels and six companies for allegedly shipping commodities and funding the Iran-backed Houthi and Hezbollah militia.

PHOTO: Flags of the US and Iran. Getty Images

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned two tankers – the DAWN II and the ABYSS – for shipping Iranian commodities to China "through forged shipping documents and other deceptive practices."

The Panama-flagged DAWN II is owned by Liberia-based Hassaleh International Company and formerly went by the names SPAR and AKIN I. The vessel forged shipping documents to muddle the origin of the commodities onboard, with assistance from India-based company KNH Shipping, OFAC said.

The Palau-flagged ABYSS shipped Iranian commodities to China as well. It is owned by Vietnam-based Quoc Viet Marine Transport and operated by India-based Melody Shipmanagement, OFAC said.

OFAC has also sanctioned Houthis’ financial facilitator Sa’id al-Jamal for using these companies to assist the shipments of Iranian commodities through forged shipping documents and fallacious practices, OFAC said.

“The United States will continue to take action to disrupt the abuse of international energy markets to facilitate terrorist activities,” undersecretary of the US Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Brian E. Nelson said.

Since mid-November 2023, Yemen-based Houthi militants have been incessantly attacking commercial vessels passing through the Suez Canal trade route and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. The ongoing attacks have forced several shipping companies to re-route vessels via the Cape of Good Hope.

By Aparupa Mazumder 

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