Washington targets Iran’s shadow fleet again
The US government has sanctioned more vessels that are allegedly a part of Iran’s shadow fleet.
IMAGE: Getty Images
The US Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has targeted Iran’s remaining shadow fleet, which continues to evade US sanctions by transporting Iranian petroleum and petrochemicals.
OFAC has categorised these vessels as "registered across more than a dozen jurisdictions and operated by an intricate web of international front companies," it said.
As a part of Washington’s ongoing ‘Economic Outcast’ campaign against Tehran, today’s action “effectively neutralizes the vast majority of Iran’s remaining shadow fleet network,” OFAC claimed.
The US treasury department has sanctioned the Comoros-flagged asphalt/bitumen tanker Paritosh, owned by Marshall Islands-registered Paritosh Shipping, for transporting over 100,000 barrels of Iranian bitumen/asphalt in 2026.
Another target, Panama-flagged asphalt/bitumen tanker Bitu, owned by Marshall Islands-registered Ornella Shipping, has transported over 170,000 barrels of Iranian bitumen/asphalt in 2026, OFAC said.
The Panama-flagged Starway, owned by China-based Hechuang International Group, has transported over 3 million bbls of Iranian naphtha since 2025, OFAC claimed.
The US agency has sanctioned 14 more vessels and their owners for facilitating similar transactions on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), it said.
The latest measure forms part of Washington’s campaign to cut Iran’s oil exports to zero, the treasury department said earlier.
The US agency has described Iran’s shadow fleet business as “the aging network of tankers the regime relies on to move billions of dollars’ worth of petroleum and petroleum products to foreign markets.”
By assembling a shadow fleet of poorly maintained vessels to circumvent sanctions meant to restrict the movement of Iranian crude oil, Tehran has generated revenue that has supported regional armed groups, including the Yemen-based Houthis and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah, OFAC claimed earlier.
As a part of today’s action, OFAC has removed two vessels – Hakuna Matata and Pinocchio – from the sanctions list. These vessels were previously identified in June 2025 as part of Iran’s shadow fleet.
OFAC has effectuated their removal from the sanctions list “following a demonstrated change in circumstances, namely the removal of these vessels from the shadow fleet and their sale to non-sanctioned/U.S.-aligned operators.”
By Aparupa Mazumder
Please get in touch with comments or additional info to news@engine.online
