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US authorities have imposed sanctions on a UAE commodity trader accused of facilitating shipments of Iranian crude using falsified cargo documents, part of a wider crackdown on an alleged illicit shipping network. 

The US Department of State and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced on October 11 they had added a combined total of 16 companies and 23 vessels to the government’s lists of sanctioned entities in an effort to expand sanctions in Iran’s petroleum and petrochemical sectors. 

The action was taken in response to Iran’s attack on Israel on October 1 and “intensifies financial pressure” on the country’s energy sector revenues, OFAC says. 

“Collectively, these actions target a significant portion of the shadow fleet of tankers and illicit operators that move the Iranian regime’s petroleum exports,” it says. 

A notice issued by the Treasury Department says the move targets a network of illicit shipping operators accused of facilitating Iranian oil exports to buyers in Asia, including to Chinese refineries. 

UAE-based commodity trader Jazira Das International Oil Products Trading is among the companies targeted.  

The notice accuses Jazira Das of coordinating with China Concord Petroleum Company, which has been sanctioned by the US since 2019, in order to ship Iranian oil to China. 

The notice says the trader was listed as the consignee on cargo documents found to have been falsified in order to show oil originated in the UAE rather than Iran. 

The US has also imposed sanctions on a Hong Kong-based ship management company, Cathay Harvest Marine, for allegedly transporting Iranian oil to China. 

The notice says one of the company’s vessels was observed carrying out a ship-to-ship transfer near Singapore with a vessel affiliated with the National Iranian Tanker Company. 

UAE-headquartered Max Maritime has been slapped with sanctions after carrying out nearly a dozen ship-to-ship transfers of Iranian oil during 2023. 

Harry Victor Ship Management and Operation, based in Dubai, has been sanctioned for managing a vessel transporting multiple shipments of Iranian petrochemicals.  

Other entities targeted by the US include shipowners and other companies in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Marshall Islands, Panama and Suriname. 

Harry Victor Ship Management, Jazira Das and Max Maritime did not respond when contacted by GTR, while Cathay Harvest Marine could not be reached. 

“Today’s sanctions target Iranian efforts to channel revenues from its energy industry to finance deadly and disruptive activity – including development of its nuclear program, the proliferation of ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles, and support to regional terrorist proxies – with dangerous consequences for the region and the world,” says US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen. 

“We will not hesitate to take further action to hold Iran accountable.” 

David Tannenbaum, a partner for maritime intelligence at Pole Star Global, says the company had already identified all vessels designated by the US as having links to Iran. 

The vessel intelligence provider sent an advisory to customers shortly after Iran’s attack on Israel, warning of “significant” escalation risks and urging financial institutions, traders and other maritime service providers to “be on the lookout for red flags”. 

That advisory, seen by GTR, notes Iranian trade networks are known to use intermediaries in other countries, including Malaysia, Singapore, Lebanon, Turkey and the UAE, which “may be considered as higher risk when combined with other red flags”. 

In the case of petrochemical trades, Pole Star suggests companies watch for irregularities in bills of lading, such as missing carrier codes or where documents have not been issued by the carrier itself. 

For oil, the company says current red flags include blending crude off the coast of Malaysia prior to ship-to-ship transfers, and vessels that loiter in high-risk areas, such as anchorages close to Basra and Sohar, or near Iran’s Sirri Island. 

But Tannenbaum tells GTR that OFAC’s designations are not always comprehensive, and may not capture all vessels connected to a particular shipping company or network. He gives the example of another linked vessel, not currently sanctioned, that was spoofing its location transmissions as recently as October 15. 

“The underlying conduct – dealing in Iranian-origin goods, especially those sold by sanctioned parties – is still prohibited,” he says. 

“When examining a vessel, especially for a longer process such as a commodities trader vetting a vessel, compliance officers should also be taking into consideration what the vessel’s sister ships are doing.  

“One vessel changing its management isn’t terribly suspicious. Ten vessels changing their management on the same day and in the same high-risk jurisdiction is.” 

The US action marks the latest in a series of designations targeting commodity traders based outside Iran, but facilitating sanctioned trade. 

In November last year, OFAC announced restrictions on a network of traders in Dubai, Hong Kong and Singapore accused of facilitating shipments of Iranian oil worth billions of dollars to Asia and Europe. 

The previous year, it took action against fuel traders and shipping companies linked to Singapore, Switzerland and the UAE, accusing them of buying, blending and re-selling Iranian-origin oil.