More US Sanctions on Iran-Linked Oil Tankers

The United States has imposed sanctions on additional tankers and associated entities for their roles in transporting Iranian goods that finance the operations of Iran’s Quds Force, the Houthis, and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The US Department of Treasury announced the addition of the Panama-registered suezmax vessel Dawn II and its owner, Liberia's Hassaleh International, to its sanctions list. Additionally, the Palau-registered aframax tanker Abyss and its Vietnamese owner, Quoc Viet Marine Transport, along with the India-based Melody Shipmanagement, have been sanctioned for their connections to Houthi financial supporter Sa’id al-Jamal.

According to a Treasury Department statement, the Sa’id al-Jamal network operates through a complex system of businesses and ships, engaging in the use of fake shipping documents and other misleading methods to manage shipments of Iranian commodities.

Both the Dawn II, constructed in 2000 with a deadweight of 160,000 tons, and the Abyss, built in 1998 with a capacity of 105,000 tons, face sanctions for their involvement in the transportation of Iranian oil to China.

KNH Shipping, based in India, faced sanctions as well for its role in supplying counterfeit shipping documents to the al-Jamal network.

The Treasury Department highlighted that both the Dawn II and the Abyss resorted to the use of fake shipping documents to conceal the Iranian origin of their cargoes.

This latest set of sanctions represents the sixth series of actions taken against the al-Jamal network starting from December 2023.

Brian Nelson, the Undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, affirmed, “The United States will continue to take action to disrupt the abuse of international energy markets to facilitate terrorist activities.”