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US authorities have taken enforcement action against three overseas shipping companies accused of facilitating shipments of petroleum products to ports controlled by Yemen’s Houthi rebel group. 

The US government announced on March 4 that the Houthis had been designated as a foreign terrorist organisation, and said companies would no longer be permitted to offload refined petroleum in Yemen involving the group after April 4. 

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac), which sits within the US Department of the Treasury, said on April 28 that three companies had enabled the delivery of petroleum products to Yemen’s Ras Isa port, which it says is Houthi-controlled, after that date. 

Ofac alleges Marshall Islands-registered Zaas Shipping & Trading Co completed a delivery of liquid petroleum gas to the port on April 10, and that the vessel used has previously been used to ship Iranian-origin oil. 

It accuses Mauritius-registered Bagsak Shipping of continuing to discharge gasoil to the same port until April 8, using a vessel also linked to Russia’s so-called shadow fleet. 

The authority also says Marshall Islands-registered Great Success Shipping Co finished discharging a cargo of gasoil at Ras Isa on April 17, nearly two weeks after its restrictions took effect. 

The three companies and vessels used have been added to Ofac’s list of sanctioned entities. None could be reached by GTR. 

“Today’s action underscores our commitment to disrupt the Houthis’ efforts to fund their dangerous and destabilising attacks in the region,” says Michael Faulkender, deputy secretary of the Treasury. 

“Treasury will continue to leverage our tools and authorities to target those who seek to enable the Houthis’ ability to exploit the people of Yemen and continue their campaign of violence.” 

The US announcement says the Houthis also control the Red Sea ports of Hudaydah and Al-Salif, as well as Ras Isa, and use port revenue and seizures of cargo to fund their activity including attacks on commercial vessels. 

A UN Security Council said in November last year the rebel group had generated nearly US$4bn over a two-year period in customs revenue at ports under its control. 

US sanctions expert David Tannenbaum, director at Blackstone Compliance Services, says that by singling out the three ports, Ofac “has quietly opened up another front for maritime sanctions”. 

“At this point, compliance programmes should consider that any oil or petroleum-related shipments to these ports would run afoul of sanctions,” he says. 

Tannenbaum adds that the vessels were targeted based on when they finished discharging cargo, rather than when they arrived in Yemen, suggesting that the authority “isn’t playing around, and that instead of seeking civil penalties they are willing to jump straight to designating the vessel”. 

The announcement marks the latest in a flurry of sanctions-related measures from the US Treasury targeting the Houthis, as well as the group’s backers in Iran. 

On April 18, Ofac imposed sanctions on the International Bank of Yemen, accusing it of providing financial support to the group by enabling access to the Swift messaging system. The designation follows sanctions imposed on Yemen Kuwait Bank for Trade and Investment in January. 

The authority has also targeted an “expansive” corporate network linked to LPG magnate Seyed Emamjomeh, who it accuses of attempting to ship Iranian oil products to foreign markets, including a failed attempt to load cargo off the coast of Houston last year. 

In August last year, prior to designating the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organisation, the Treasury imposed sanctions on several companies in the Middle East and Asia accused of raising finance for a network controlled by Houthi official Sa’id al-Jamal, by facilitating shipments of Iranian oil and LPG worth millions of dollars. 

The announcement also follows guidance issued by Ofac on April 16 warning that the Iranian regime is continuing to rely on deceptive trade practices, including shadow payment channels, vessel location manipulation and falsified documents, in order to ship oil. 

The guidance says Iran generates billions of dollars per year by exporting crude oil and petroleum products, and that maritime services providers – including insurance companies – face the risk of enforcement action if they provide underwriting services, insurance or reinsurance to the Iranian energy sector.