Washington tightens sanctions on Iran’s shadow fleet network
The US government has increased pressure on Iran’s shadow fleet one day ahead of the third round of nuclear talks in Geneva.
IMAGE: Flags of the US and Iran. Getty Images
The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned over 30 individuals, 12 vessels as well as some entities conducting illicit Iranian petroleum sales and Iran’s ballistic missile and advanced conventional weapons (ACW) production.
OFAC has intensified pressure on the Iranian shadow fleet, “targeting 12 shadow fleet vessels and their respective owners or operators that have collectively transported hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products.”
The US treasury department has targeted Panama-flagged HOOT, owned by Panama-based Poros Maritime Ventures. The vessel has allegedly transported Iranian liquified petroleum gas (LPG) to Bangladesh in 2025.
The Barbados-flagged OCEAN KOI, owned and managed by Marshall Islands-based Ocean Kudos Shipping, Iranian HSFO and condensate since May 2025. “The OCEAN KOI has operated as part of the Iranian shadow fleet since at least 2020,” OFAC reported.
Another target, Comoros-flagged FELICITA - owned, operated, and managed by Liberia-registered Vast Marine - has transported “millions of barrels” of Iranian HSFO and naphtha since 2023, the US treasury department further claimed.
The US administration has sanctioned nine more vessels, along with their owners and managers – based in Iran, the British Virgin Islands, Panama, Marshall Islands and Liberia – for conducting similar fraudulent trades.
OFAC alleges that these vessels engage in other obfuscation techniques to hide their activities, like ship-to-ship (STS) transfers after daylight hours, Automated Identification System (AIS) spoofing, and conspicuous gaps in AIS location reporting.
By assembling a shadow fleet of poorly maintained vessels to circumvent sanctions meant to restrict the movement of Iranian petroleum products, Tehran has effectively generated thousands of dollars in revenue to support regional armed groups, including the Yemen-based Houthis and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah, OFAC said earlier.
The sanctions come right ahead of a third round of indirect talks between Washington and Tehran to discuss the latter’s nuclear ambitions – a move heavily opposed by the Donald Trump-led US government.
The move reinforces Washington’s commitment to tightening sanctions on Iran as it strives to bring the OPEC member’s oil exports down to zero, amid country-wide unrest.
By Aparupa Mazumder
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