US Sanctions Iranian Official, Shipping Network Moving Iranian Oil
The U.S. this week sanctioned Iranian Minister of Petroleum Mohsen Paknejad, along with several entities and ships helping to move Iranian oil, including to China.
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Paknejad oversees exports of tens of billions of dollars’ worth of Iranian oil, the Treasury Department said, and allocates some of that oil for the Iranian military. The agency said he uses a “vast shadow fleet of vessels” to disguise those oil shipments, including newly sanctioned ships carrying the flags of Hong Kong, San Marino, Iran, Comoros, Panama, Barbados and Palau and shipowners based in or registered in the Seychelles, Bangladesh, Suriname and elsewhere.
The U.S. also sanctioned companies in Hong Kong and India for owning some of those vessels, including Hong Kong-based Hong Kong Heshun Transportation Trading Ltd., Seasky Marine Co., Limited and Sun Science International Co. Ltd., along with India-based Lake View Ship Management Private Ltd.
The State Department also sanctioned three entities and three vessels for their ties to Iranian oil shipments, including Singapore-based Shipload Maritime Pte. Ltd. and Indonesia-based PT. Bintang Samudra Utama and PT. Gianira Adhinusa Senatama. Those companies have ties to the Indonesia-flagged Malili, Celebes and Marina Vision.