Overview
- Treasury designated 29 vessels and their management firms for covert shipments of Iranian oil and petroleum products worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
- Targets include a network tied to Egyptian businessman Hatem Elsaid Farid Ibrahim Sakr and companies active in the UAE, India, the Marshall Islands and Panama.
- Officials describe the 'shadow fleet' as older ships with opaque ownership that operate without top-tier insurance and rely on deceptive shipping practices.
- Treasury undersecretary John Hurley said the department will continue efforts to deprive Tehran of petroleum revenue used for its military and weapons programs.
- The action builds on recent enforcement, including the Dec. 10 U.S. seizure of the tanker Skipper off Venezuela after prior sanctions for carrying Iranian oil.