U.S. Treasury Cracks Down on Iran’s Shadow Fleet with 13 Additional Ships Targeted

The U.S. Department of Treasury announced today a major expansion of sanctions targeting Iran’s maritime oil transportation network, marking an aggressive move to disrupt the flow of Iranian petroleum products through international waters.

“Iran continues to rely on a shadowy network of vessels, shippers, and brokers to facilitate its oil sales and fund its destabilizing activities,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. He added that anyone dealing in Iranian oil “exposes themselves to significant sanctions risk.”

The sanctions represent the second round of measures following President Trump’s National Security Presidential Memorandum 2 issued on February 4, 2025, which restored President Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign aimed at reducing Iran’s oil exports to zero. 

The actions announced today target more than 20 individuals and entities, along with 13 vessels, across multiple jurisdictions for their involvement in brokering the sale and transport of Iranian petroleum products.

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has uncovered sophisticated ship-to-ship transfer operations occurring outside jurisdictional port limits, where sanctioned Iranian tankers transfer petroleum to non-sanctioned vessels to obscure the oil’s Iranian origin.

Key vessels involved in these operations include the Panama-flagged URGANE I, which was caught loading Iranian Pars crude oil via ship-to-ship transfer from a National Iranian Tanker Company vessel. The URGANE I, managed by PRC-based Nycity Shipmanagement Co Ltd, has made multiple Iranian petroleum deliveries to China.

The sanctions target multiple jurisdictions, including companies in the UAE, Hong Kong, India, and China. Notable among these is UAE-based Petroquimico FZE, which utilized the Barbados-flagged vessel CASINOVA to transport over 200,000 barrels of Iranian oil to the UAE in November 2024.

Hong Kong-based Petronix Energy Trading Limited has been identified as purchasing hundreds of thousands of metric tons of Iranian oil from the sanctioned Naftiran Intertrade Company for delivery to China.

The Treasury’s action also reveals the use of Seychelles-based shell companies operating Panama-flagged tankers LYDIA II, AYDEN, and FIONA, which have been transporting Iranian oil to Chinese refineries.

The sanctions extend beyond vessel operators to include key figures in Iran’s oil industry, including Hamid Bovard, who serves as Iran’s Deputy Minister of Petroleum and CEO of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). NIOC plays a crucial role in funding Iran’s military activities through oil revenue.

As part of the enforcement action, all property and interests belonging to the designated entities within U.S. jurisdiction are now blocked. Additionally, entities owned 50 percent or more by blocked persons are also subject to sanctions.

The Treasury warns that violations may result in civil or criminal penalties for both U.S. and foreign persons, with OFAC maintaining authority to impose civil penalties on a strict liability basis.

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