World ECR | US sanctions Iran’s “shadow fleet”

The U.S. Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on 35 entities and vessels involved in Iran’s “shadow fleet” of oil tankers, saying the tankers “play a critical role in transporting illicit Iranian oil to foreign markets” in violation of U.S. sanctions.

Acting Deputy Secretary of State Bradley Smith said Iran continues to use oil trade revenues to develop its nuclear program, proliferate its ballistic missile and drone technology and fund its regional terrorist proxies, which threatens to further undermine the region. Stablize. An announcement was made on December 3rd.

The Treasury Department said the action, under Executive Order 13902, imposes sanctions on companies that manage ships “that transport tens of millions of barrels of oil to Iran.” Sanctioned entities include United Arab Emirates-based Galileos Marine Services, Panama-based Ocean Glory Giant OGG SA and multiple companies in China, India and other countries.

“Iran relies on a vast network of tankers and ship management companies in multiple jurisdictions to transport its oil to overseas customers – using tactics such as false documentation, manipulating ship tracking systems and constantly changing ship names and flags,” the notice said.

Of the designated vessels, the Marshall Islands-flagged JAYA “transported hundreds of thousands of tons of Iranian crude oil on behalf of China’s U.S.-designated Concorde Petroleum Corporation,” while the Panama-flagged MASAL “transported more than 1 million barrels of Iranian crude oil.” . “Iranian Crude Oil” is supplied to sanctioned entities including the National Iranian Oil Company.

The sanctions block all property and interests of designated persons within U.S. jurisdiction and generally prohibit U.S. persons from conducting transactions involving designated entities.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has issued an alert on its sanctions guidance for the maritime industry “to help identify new or common fact patterns that may indicate evasion of sanctions and address common counterparty due diligence issues.” , and best implement practices” that promote sanctions compliance.