US expands sanctions on Iran after attack on Israel and goes after country’s ‘ghost fleet’

The US has responded to Iran’s 1 October attack on Israel by extending its sanctions on the country to the petrochemical and petroleum product sectors.

The Treasury Department also put a further 17 ships on its sanctions list, describing the move as aiming at Iran’s “ghost” fleet.

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Washington’s move came 10 days after Iran launched a barrage of ballistic missiles against Israel, which Tehran couched as a response to military action against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Treasury secretary Janet Yellen said the expanded sanctions are “decisive actions” aimed at disrupting Iran’s ability to carry out destabilising activity in the Middle East.

“Today’s sanctions target Iranian efforts to channel revenues from its energy industry to finance deadly and disruptive activity — including development of its nuclear programme, the proliferation of ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles and support to regional terrorist proxies — with dangerous consequences for the region and the world,” she said.

“We will not hesitate to take further action to hold Iran accountable.”

Although Iran’s latest attack was the justification for the new sanctions, the Biden administration was already under pressure to act against its refinery sector.

Friday’s sanctions are the administration’s first use of its powers under the Stop Harboring Iranian Petroleum Act.

Biden signed the law, spearheaded by Republican senator Marco Rubio, in April requiring him to take sanctions action on Iranian petroleum products exports.

The Treasury and State departments slapped new sanctions on a raft of vessels and the companies that control them.

The Treasury targeted crude and product tankers.

“Iran’s oil exports are enabled by a network of illicit shipping facilitators in multiple jurisdictions which, through obfuscation and deception, load and transport Iranian oil for sale to buyers in Asia,” the department said.

Among the new sanctions actions, the Treasury blacklisted United Arab Emirates-based ship manager Max Maritime Solutions for allegedly using its vessels in ship-to-ship transfers with tankers owned by National Iranian Tanker Co.

Added to the sanctions list were three Max Maritime-managed VLCCs: the 320,800-dwt Bendigo, 309,000-dwt Salvia (both built 2005) and 300,000-dwt Carnatic (built 2004).

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The department also targeted three tankers — the 296,400-dwt VLCC Goodwin (built 2009), 46,000-dwt MR product carrier Anhona (built 2008) and 298,300-dwt VLCC Wen Yao (built 2005) — controlled by Dubai’s Harry Victor Ship Management & Operation.

And the Treasury took aim at Dubai’s Jazira Das International Oil Products Trading for serving as a consignee on falsified documents masking Iranian crude as oil from the UAE and for coordinating shipments by National Iranian Oil Co (NOIC) to China Concord Petroleum, both of which are already on sanctions lists.

Malaysia’s Delnaz Ship Management was accused of using its 298,900-dwt VLCC Dimitra II (built 2000) to move NIOC crude to China. The Treasury also blacklisted the company’s 105,400-dwt aframax Tyche I (built 2003), 45,000-dwt product carrier Satina (built 2004) and 106,500-dwt aframax Cross Ocean (built 2002).

Harry Victor Ship, Delnaz and Jazira Das could not be immediately reached for comment. Contact information for the remaining shipowners and managers was not immediately available.

The State Department targeted five more tankers, one gas carrier and related entities for the “illicit movement” of Iranian petroleum.