US sanctions 35 entities & ships for transporting Iranian oil, including 2 Indian firms

In the latest tranche of sanctions on Iran, the United States has imposed sanctions on 35 entities and ships for transporting Iranian oil.

The firms sanctioned for transporting Iranian oil include two Indian firms as well.

The United States has imposed a wide range of sanctions on Iran since the Ayatollah’s regime seized the US embassy in Tehran in 1979 and held US citizens hostage. The sanctions have since been ramped up time-to-time in response to Iranian aggression in West Asian and ramping up of its nuclear programme.

In a statement on Monday (December 3), the Department of Treasury said that the latest tranche of sanctions imposes “additional costs on Iran’s petroleum sector following Iran’s attack against Israel on October 1, 2024, as well as Iran’s announced nuclear escalations, building upon the sanctions issued on October 11”.

Petroleum revenues provide the Iranian regime with the resources to fund its nuclear programme, develop advanced drones and missiles, and provide ongoing financial and material support for the terrorist activities of its regional proxies, said the Treasury.

Iran uses a range of tactics to transport sanctioned oil, such as relying upon a sprawling network of tankers and ship management firms in multiple jurisdictions and using false documentation, manipulation of vessel tracking systems, and constant changes to the names and flags of vessels, said the Treasury.

2 Indian firms among sanctioned entities

Among 35 entities and vessels that have been sanctioned are at least two Indian firms.

The two companies are Maharasthra-based Vision Ship Management LLP and Tightship Shipping Management (OPC) Private Limited.

These companies have been sanctioned for operating or managing ships engaged in the transportation of Iranian petroleum. The Treasury said the two companies have collectively shipped tens of millions of barrels of Iranian petroleum and are linked to a sanctioned Chinese company well-known for transporting sanctioned Iranian and Venezuelan petroleum.

The Thane-based Vision Ship Management LLP manages and operates three ships sanctioned in the latest tranche and one of them has carried “millions of barrels of Iranian crude” oil for China Concord Petroleum Company (CCPC) since 2022, said the Treasury.

The Mumbai-based Tightship Shipping Management (OPC) Private Limited manages or operates at least four of the vessels sanctioned in the latest tranche, said the Treasury.

One of these ships has engaged ship-to-ship transfers of Iranian oil with Iranian-flagged vessels, according to the Treasury.

Bradley T Smith, the US Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said, “Iran continues to funnel revenues from its petroleum trade toward the development of its nuclear program, proliferation of its ballistic missile and unmanned aerial vehicle technology, and sponsorship of its regional terrorist proxies, risking further destabilizing the region. The United States remains committed to disrupting the shadow fleet of vessels and operators that facilitate these illicit activities, using the full range of our tools and authorities.”