US blacklists tankers to target Iranian oil sales and drone shipments

The US has targeted its first ships in the new wave of sanctions against Iran prompted by the missile attack on Israel this month.

The five blacklisted vessels, four small tankers and a suezmax, were said to be under the control of two bodies that acted as the commercial arms of Iranian military groups, the Armed Forces General Staff and the Ministry of Defence & Armed Forces Logistics.

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The ships were part of a “vast shipping network” used to haul Iranian oil to countries including China, Russia and Venezuela, according to the US Treasury Department.

The blacklisting comes a day after President Joe Biden signed off a financial package to Ukraine and Israel, alongside measures aimed at targeting the Iranian oil trade, which stands at a six-year high since sanctions were reimposed.

The five ships spoofed their positions to disguise their activities to make it look as though they were loading Iraqi oil, according to campaign group United Against Nuclear Iran, which tracks tankers hauling Iranian cargoes.

Four of the ships are linked to Sahara Thunder, which runs the commercial activities of the Iranian defence ministry, the US said.

It is also said to be a key commercial operator behind Iran’s design, manufacture and sale of thousands of drones. Many of them go to Russia to support its invasion of Ukraine, according to the US.

US treasury officials said Sahara Thunder entered a time charter contract with India-based Zen Shipping for the Cook Islands-flagged 10,280-dwt Chem (built 2000), which they claimed has been used for multiple shipments of Iranian oil since 2022.

The ship is managed and operated by Safe Seas Ship Management, which has offices in India and the United Arab Emirates.

Three other ships managed by Safe Seas were also blacklisted by the US: the 47,431-dwt Dancy Dynamic (built 1999), 9,965-dwt Conrad (built 2010) and 23,998-dwt KMA (built 2002).

A website for Seas Ship Management says it has a fleet of some 20 managed product, chemical and asphalt tankers.

It says the crewing arm of its operations has more than 600 seafarers on its books. Calls to the company in the United Arab Emirates and India were not answered.

The fifth tanker, the 159,713-dwt La Pearl (built 1998), was targeted after loading a consignment of Iranian oil in a ship-to-ship transfer, according to the US. Its Panama-based owner and operator, Saone Shipping, was also blacklisted.

The cargo was sold on behalf of Iranian front company Sepehr Energy Jahan Nama Pars, which was blacklisted by the US in November 2023. The US said Sepehr Energy sold Iranian cargoes to fund the overseas activities of proxy groups outside of Iran.

The sanctions regime is aimed at making it harder for the ships to trade by freezing assets, imposing travel bans on individuals and making it more difficult for blacklisted entities to do business.

Treasury official Brian Nelson said: “Iran’s Ministry of Defense continues to destabilise the region and world with its support to Russia’s war in Ukraine, unprecedented attack on Israel and proliferation of UAVs [drones] and other dangerous military hardware to terrorist proxies.”

Nelson, the undersecretary for terrorism & financial intelligence, said Washington and its allies will “continue to use all means available to combat those who would finance Iran’s destabilising activities”.

The US and its allies imposed sanctions in the immediate aftermath of the Iranian missile strikes against Israel on 13 April and the seizure of the 15,000-teu MSC Aries (built 2020).

The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Navy, which seized the boxship, was blacklisted on 18 April but was the only maritime-linked measure in a list that targeted Iran’s drone and missile operations.

However, US treasury secretary Janet Yellen said: “We will continue to deploy our sanctions authority to counter Iran with further actions in the days and weeks ahead.”