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US authorities have imposed sanctions on several companies in the Middle East and Asia accused of breaching sanctions on Iranian fuel exports in order to finance Yemen’s Houthi rebel group. 

The US Treasury says the companies are part of a network linked to Sa’id al-Jamal, a Houthi financial official backed by Iran and sanctioned since 2021, and have facilitated shipments of Iran-origin oil and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) worth millions of dollars. 

“The revenue from al-Jamal’s network helps finance the Houthis’ reckless targeting of shipping in the Red Sea and civilian infrastructure, which has led to grave consequences for both the region and the international community,” the Treasury says. 

Bradley Smith, US Treasury acting under-secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, says: “Our message is clear: those who seek to finance these groups’ destabilising activities will be held to account.” 

The Houthis were designated as a global terrorist organisation by the US in January this year, after launching a string of attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. 

Al-Jamal was already sanctioned due to his ties to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps, however, and in March 2022 the US government took action against another group of commodity traders and intermediaries accused of financing the rebel group. 

Of the companies now subject to sanctions, Malaysia-based Transmarine Navigation is accused of forging documents to disguise the origin of Iranian fuel. 

The company told Lloyd’s List it was “shocked” by the claims, adding its “stamp has been misused by irresponsible parties”. Representatives could not be reached by GTR. 

Authorities also allege that UAE-based ONX Trading, a fuel distributor established last year in Dubai, facilitated illicit payments on behalf of the network. The company did not comment when contacted. 

Most of the companies targeted own and operate LPG tankers believed to have transported Iranian fuel. 

Those accused include KDS Shipping Limited and Arafat Shipping Company, both registered in the Marshall Islands. The latter allegedly shipped LPG worth millions of dollars to Yemen that was falsely claimed to have been loaded in the UAE. 

Another Marshall Islands company, DP Shipping Limited, is accused of transporting Iranian fuel oil to the UAE after one of its vessels carried out a ship-to-ship transfer with a vessel already subject to sanctions. 

UAE-based KFD General Trading is accused of arranging a shipment of Iranian commodities to China, again in support of the al-Jamal network. 

The three tankers themselves, as well as one of the ships’ captains, have also been added to US sanctions lists. 

None of the companies could be reached by GTR or responded when contacted. 

The US Treasury action takes aim at a Hong Kong-based company, Kai Heng Long Global Energy, accused of supporting Lebanese Hezbollah, which is also backed by Iran. 

The company is accused of owning and operating four tankers involved in transporting LPG worth tens of millions of dollars from Iran to China, including one shipment that took place as recently as last month. 

Maritime analytics firm Windward says six of the seven tankers newly sanctioned by the US government were already flagged in its system as high risk. 

“This was largely due to their illicit behaviour and engagement in deceptive shipping practices, such as ship-to-ship meetings with other sanctioned and high-risk vessels and location manipulation,” it says.  

Windward adds that other risk factors include the age of the tankers, which were built between 1987 and 2000. They also each sail under “flags of convenience” – mainly Palau and São Tomé and Príncipe – and most lack P&I insurance. 

“This highlights the importance of predictive intelligence and analytics, because you obviously can’t afford to wait for official government announcements to know which vessels potentially endanger your trading and shipping operations,” it says. 

The action is the latest in a long series of US enforcement actions against non-US companies for facilitating trade in Iranian oil. 

Authorities have previously taken action against commodity traders and shipping companies in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Switzerland and the UAE.