The US has issued a raft of sanctions against Iranian shipping, targeting in part the head of the National Iranian Tanker Co (NITC) and the alleged front companies fighting to recover their confiscated gasoline.
In a broader push to handicap the Islamic Republic's oil industry — which the US alleges funds terrorism across the globe — the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac) added 11 companies, eight individuals and two ships to its ever-increasing blacklist on Monday.
"The Iranian regime continues to prioritise its support for terrorist entities and its nuclear programme over the needs of the Iranian people," treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin said.
The sanctions primarily target Iran's Ministry of Petroleum, its officials and subsidiaries, including oil minister Bijan Zanganeh, the National Petrochemical Company, three refining companies and its distribution, pipelines and engineering arms.
The sanctions targeting the shipping industry hit out at NITC head Nasrollah Sardashti, the 298,414-dwt Longbow Lake (built 2002), the 300,361-dwt Wu Xian (built 1996), Atlas Ship Management and Atlantic Ship Management.
Neither ship flies the Iranian flag — the Longbow Lake is owned by a Chinese company and flagged in Djibouti and the Wu Xian is Indian-owned and Sao Tome and Principe-flagged — but Ofac claims Iran has ownership interests in both.
The two managers are based in the United Arab Emirates and neither appears to actively manage any ships.
The US also blacklisted alleged Iranian military agent Mahmoud Madanipour, who the US has accused of facilitating a shipment of Iranian gasoline to Venezuela aboard four Greek-owned tankers earlier this year.
Madanipour owns, controls or had Mobin International, Mobin Holding and Oman Fuel Trading arrange to sell Venezuela's state oil company, PDVSA, gasoline obtained through the National Iranian Oil Company.
The two Mobin companies and Oman Fuel Trading were also sanctioned.
The cargo was confiscated from the IMS-linked 37,400-dwt Bella and 37,300-dwt Luna (both built 2000), 47,400-dwt Bering (built 1998) and 46,200-dwt Pandi (built 1996) earlier this year and transported to Houston.
The confiscation came after the US obtained a court order to seize the fuel and officials convinced the ships' owners to give up the fuel.
Mobin International, Oman Fuel Trading and unsanctioned Sohar Fuel have filed claims to recover the 1m-plus barrels, arguing they are legitimate companies that had a deal to ship the gasoline to Trinidad & Tobago for sale to customers in Peru and Colombia.
The US filed papers in that dispute signalling their intent to file a motion to dismiss.
The court papers said the US sent the companies a list of questions and that their answers were under review and that will inform their motion to dismiss, which will be filed on or before 4 November.
In August, the US seized the companies' websites, accusing them of supporting foreign terrorist organisations.
These moves by Ofac follow on last week's sanctions against Chinese companies that allegedly helped the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines buy a boxship.
