The US Treasury on Thursday announced new sanctions targeting 29 vessels and multiple shipping firms accused of helping Iran evade oil sanctions, intensifying pressure on what Washington describes as Tehran’s shadow fleet.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said the newly sanctioned vessels and management companies had transported hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian petroleum through deceptive shipping practices, primarily to buyers in Asia.
“Treasury will continue to deprive the regime of the petroleum revenue it uses to fund its military and weapons programs," Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John K. Hurley said.
The sanctioned vessels are registered under a range of flags of convenience, including those of Panama, Palau, the Cook Islands, Barbados, Jamaica and other jurisdictions commonly used by sanctions-evading shipping networks.
According to OFAC, the action brings the total number of vessels sanctioned since Trump returned to office to more than 180, a campaign the Treasury says has raised costs for Iranian oil exporters and reduced the revenue Tehran earns per barrel.
The US campaign targeting the dark fleet has intensified for months. In an October report, analytics firm Kpler said that over 60% of the vessels that have loaded Iranian crude in the last 12 months are now sanctioned by OFAC, up from 38% one year ago.
Still, according to shipping analytics firm Vortexa, Iran's shadow trade to China appears to be operating at full tilt. Export volumes stood at around 1.5-1.7 million bpd so far in 2025, it said, up slightly from last year but a full 25% from 2023.
OFAC said the sanctioned vessels carried Iranian crude oil, fuel oil, bitumen, naphtha and condensate, often operating under flags of convenience and managed by companies set up solely to own and operate individual ships.
The Treasury also designated Egyptian businessman Hatem Elsaid Farid Ibrahim Sakr, accusing his UAE-based companies of playing a key role in transporting Iranian petroleum products in coordination with entities linked to Iran’s Ministry of Defense.
OFAC said vessels associated with Sakr had conducted ship-to-ship transfers of Iranian oil and made port calls at Houthi-controlled ports in Yemen.
The sanctions against Iran's so-called shadow oil fleet could endanger the funding of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, as Iran's budget for this fiscal year had given the sprawling paramilitary body new economic power by tasking it with selling nearly 600,000 barrels of oil per day to fund military expenditures.
