The US Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on eight tankers belonging to Iran’s ‘shadow fleet’, as well as the companies that own them.
The list includes companies registered in China and the Marshall Islands. The tankers fly the flags of Mozambique, Barbados, Vanuatu and the Marshall Islands. It is alleged that they have transported millions of barrels of Iranian oil to China and hundreds of thousands of barrels of petroleum products to the United Arab Emirates.
Restrictions have also been imposed on two companies which, according to the US Treasury Department, play a key role in collecting payments from vessels for passage through the Strait of Hormuz. It is alleged that the companies sell insurance policies to vessels for transit.
“The insurance covers risks, most of which are created by Iran itself, such as the seizure of vessels, and is designed to generate revenue to fund the regime’s terrorism and corruption,” the US Treasury Department states.
According to the statement, through the Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Company and the HormuzSafe Marine Services Authority, Iran “has established illicit schemes to extort money from ships attempting to make routine commercial voyages through the Strait of Hormuz”.
The Strait of Hormuz is of strategic importance, as it is through this waterway that the majority of oil produced in the Gulf states reaches the global market. Following the US and Israeli strikes that began on 28 February, Iran effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz.