On Thursday, the United States placed sanctions on 22 tankers and numerous individuals and companies connected to Iran's oil trade. This move is part of efforts to cut Tehran's remaining oil revenues while a U.S. naval blockade continues to limit Iranian exports.
The U.S. Treasury Department targeted 17 vessels and their related companies as part of Operation Economic Outcast. Additionally, the State Department imposed sanctions on another five vessels, ten entities, and six individuals involved in the trade of Iranian oil and petrochemical products.
According to the Treasury, these new sanctions effectively disable most of Iran's remaining shadow fleet, which consists of older tankers and offshore companies helping Iran sell billions of dollars worth of oil despite years of U.S. sanctions. However, maritime tracking experts report that many Iran-linked tankers are still operating outside U.S. sanctions.
“Treasury is cutting off the funds that the Iranian regime uses to conduct warfare in the region, and we will keep highlighting those who facilitate the regime's oil sales,” stated Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
The sanctions target vessels registered under more than a dozen flags, with ownership spanning companies based in the Marshall Islands, Hong Kong, China, and the British Virgin Islands, among others.
One of the newly designated vessels is the Cameroon-flagged crude oil tanker SHENZHEN (IMO 9276561), which reportedly transported over 3.5 million barrels of Iranian crude since November 2025.
Additionally, the Vanuatu-flagged tanker TINA 5 (IMO 9237761) allegedly carried more than 1.5 million barrels of Iranian crude in August alone.
Other vessels included in the sanctions have shipped naphtha, fuel oil, liquefied petroleum gas, methanol, and other petrochemical products to markets in Asia and the Middle East.
For example, the Panama-flagged tanker STARWAY (IMO 9273246) has transported over three million barrels of Iranian naphtha since 2025. The Cameroon-flagged tanker KING CHAIN (IMO 9277761) has delivered several million barrels of Iranian methanol to China since 2023.
The sanctions also target the companies behind these vessels, disrupting the ownership and operational networks used to transport Iranian goods internationally.
This latest action is part of Operation Economic Outcast, which started on August 24 as part of the Trump administration's strategy to economically isolate Iran and disrupt its financial networks.
The campaign has focused on attacking Iranian oil exports, industrial firms, and financial intermediaries while the U.S. combines economic sanctions with a naval blockade that significantly limits Iran's ability to export crude oil.
Treasury reported that these new sanctions will further limit Iran's ways of bypassing sanctions and generating revenue from oil and petrochemical exports.
Nonetheless, tracking the complete impact of these measures on Iran's larger tanker network is challenging. The maritime tracking firm TankerTrackers.com estimates that there are still 173 Iran-linked tankers not subject to U.S. sanctions, despite Treasury's claim that most of the shadow fleet has been neutralized.
Treasury acknowledged that the shadow fleet is constantly evolving, with vessels frequently joining and leaving the network, and they will keep working to identify and disrupt efforts to evade sanctions.
Additionally, the department lifted sanctions from two vessels, HAKUNA MATATA (IMO 9354167) and PINOCCHIO (IMO 9400112), after confirming they were no longer part of Iran's shadow fleet and had been sold to operators not facing sanctions.
Under these new sanctions, assets and interests of the sanctioned entities within U.S. jurisdiction are blocked. Foreign financial institutions that conduct significant transactions with sanctioned parties might also face secondary sanctions.
These recent measures are part of Washington's ongoing campaign to limit Iran's oil revenues through financial restrictions and military enforcement, further constraining the shipping networks used to export Iranian oil globally.