Operation Economic Outcast Neutralizes Iranian Regime’s Remaining Shadow Fleet Network

Sanctions Target Iran’s Remaining Illicit Fleet and its Global Support Network

WASHINGTON—Today, as part of Operation Economic Outcast, the U.S. Department of the Treasury is targeting the remnants of Iran’s shadow fleet: the aging network of tankers the regime relies on to move billions of dollars’ worth of petroleum and petroleum products to foreign markets.  Today’s action effectively neutralizes the vast majority of Iran’s remaining shadow fleet network.

“Treasury is starving the tyrannical regime in Tehran of the money it uses to wage war in the region, and we will continue exposing those who enable the regime’s oil sales,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent.  “No enabler of Iranian sanctions evasion is safe from the full force of Treasury’s authorities.”

With the success of the U.S. military’s blockade, dwindling Iranian oil shipments outside the blockage line, and intensifying economic pressure across sectors from Operation Economic Outcast, the regime is running out of options to stabilize Iran’s failing economy.

OFAC is taking action against remaining shadow fleet vessels that are continuing to evade U.S. sanctions by transporting Iranian petroleum and petrochemicals.  The vessels involved, registered across more than a dozen jurisdictions and operated by an intricate web of international front companies, underscore the global scale of Iran’s illicit shipping architecture and the sophistication with which the regime attempts to mask its sanctions evasion. By dismantling these maritime nodes and the companies behind them, Treasury is severing core channels the Iranian regime has long relied on to circumvent U.S. sanctions, sustain its petrochemical sector, and funnel resources to destabilizing actors. Because this illicit maritime ecosystem is fluid, with vessels routinely entering and exiting the network, Treasury will continue to monitor, identify, and disrupt any attempts at sanctions evasion.

The designations imposed today are being taken pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13902, which targets the Iranian petroleum sector, among other key sectors of the Iranian economy.

OPERATION ECONOMIC OUTCAST IS ISOLATING THE IRANIAN REGIME

Announced by Secretary Bessent on August 24, 2026 and dubbed Economic D-Day, Operation Economic Outcast is severing the remaining economic lifelines that sustain the Iranian regime. Treasury has mapped the networks, facilitators, and financial channels that Iran uses to smuggle oil, evade sanctions, and fund terror.  Working with partners across the U.S. government, the European Union, United Kingdom, Gulf partners, and others, Treasury is targeting any source of the regime’s illicit revenue, as well as its sanctions evasion schemes to move funds.

Operation Economic Outcast significantly expanded sanctions risk for those who continue to choose to do business with Iran.  Treasury warned that any entity facilitating money laundering or sanctions evasion on behalf of Iran risks being cut off from the U.S. financial system.  Operation Economic Outcast also expanded sanctions exposure for non-U.S. persons who continue doing business with the Iranian regime and will accelerate the pace of U.S. enforcement.  More information on Operation Economic Outcast is available here.

SHADOW FLEET VESSELS

Treasury today took action against 17 shadow fleet vessels responsible for transporting millions of barrels of Iranian crude oil and petroleum and petrochemical products to a variety of markets in South and East Asia.  

• The Comoros-flagged asphalt/bitumen tanker PARITOSH (IMO 9383352), owned by Marshall Islands-registered Paritosh Shipping Inc, has transported over 100,000 barrels of Iranian bitumen/asphalt in 2026.
• The Panama-flagged asphalt/bitumen tanker BITU (IMO 9531765), owned by Marshall Islands-registered Ornella Shipping Inc, has transported over 170,000 barrels of Iranian bitumen/asphalt in 2026. 
• The Panama-flagged STARWAY (IMO 9273246), owned by China-based Hechuang International Group, has transported over three million barrels of Iranian naphtha since 2025.
• The Bahamas-flagged liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanker GAS LUCKY (IMO 9177557), owned by China-based Shunhang Ship Management Ltd, has transported over 500,000 barrels of Iranian ethylene since 2025.
• The Mongolia-flagged LPG tanker G SPRING (IMO 9040118), owned by Hong Kong-registered JLS Dragon Co Ltd, has transported the equivalent of over one million barrels of Iranian LPG to China since 2021.
• The Palau-flagged products tanker KANHA (IMO 9308766), owned by Marshall Islands-registered Kanha Shipping Inc, has transported over three million barrels of Iranian high sulfur fuel oil to various ports in the Middle East and India since 2021.
• The Cameroon-flagged oil products tanker KING CHAIN (IMO 9277761), owned by the United Kingdom-registered and China-based Saint Abundant International Co Limited, has transported several millions of barrels of Iranian methanol to China since 2023.
• The Zanzibar-flagged LPG tanker POLAR (IMO 9050187), owned by Marshall Islands-based Terra Nav Shipping Ltd, has transported over 100,000 barrels of Iranian propane/butane to Pakistan since 2025.
• The Panama-flagged chemical/oil products tanker MACKEREL (IMO 9234628), owned by Marshall Islands-based Betta Shipping Inc., has transported over 500,000 barrels of Iranian high sulfur fuel oil since December 2025.
• The Sierra Leone-flagged LPG tanker GAS MARAKUA (IMO 9240421), owned by British Virgin Islands-based Makarua Shipping Limited, has transported over one million barrels of Iranian propane/butane since late 2025.
• The Vanuatu-flagged LPG tanker ZIXUAN (IMO 9317298), owned by Marshall Islands-based Goddess Shipping Corp., has transported over one million barrels of Iranian propane/butane since October 2025.
• The Hong Kong-flagged chemical/oil products tanker AVA 6 (IMO 9226140), owned by Hong Kong-based Standwill Shipping Limited, has transported over one million barrels of Iranian naphtha since September 2025.
• The Vanuatu-flagged crude oil tanker TINA 5 (IMO 9237761), owned by Marshall Islands-based Nostalgia Company Limited, transported over 1.5 million barrels of Iranian crude oil in August 2026.
• The Comoros-flagged LPG tanker SOGL (IMO 9208227), owned by Marshall Islands-based Gravion Maritime Company, has transported more than two million barrels of Iranian propane/butane since September 2025.
• The San Marino-flagged LPG tanker NOBLE SEA (IMO 9343118), owned by Hong Kong-based Brich Shipping Co. Limited, has shipped over two million barrels of Iranian ammonia and propane/butane since mid-2025, most recently completing a shipment of 200,000 barrels of Iranian methanol in June 2026.
• The Cameroon-flagged crude oil tanker SHENZHEN (IMO 9276561), owned by Marshall Islands-based Northport Navigation Inc., has transported more than 3.5 million barrels of Iranian crude oil since November 2025.
• The Gambia-flagged oil products tanker EXFLAME (IMO 9294678), owned by Marshall Islands-registered Science Ru Trading Co. Limited, has transported more than 400,000 barrels of Iranian methanol since mid-2026. 

The following companies are being designated pursuant to E.O. 13902 for operating in the petroleum or petrochemical sector of the Iranian economy:  

• Paritosh Shipping Inc.;
• Ornella Shipping Inc.;
• Hechuang International Group Limited;
• Kanha Shipping Inc;
• Terra Nav Shipping Ltd;
• Betta Shipping Inc.;
• Makarua Shipping Limited;
• Goddess Shipping Corp.;
• Standwill Shipping Limited;
• Gravion Maritime Company;
• Nostalgia Company Limited;
• Brich Shipping Company Limited; and
• Northport Navigation Inc.

The following companies are being designated pursuant to E.O. 13902 for operating in the petrochemical sector of the Iranian economy:

• Shunhang Ship Management Limited;
• JLS Dragon Co Ltd;
• Brich Shipping Company Limited;
• Saint Abundant International Co Limited; and
• Science Ru Trading Co. Limited.

As a part of today’s action, OFAC is also removing two vessels from the sanctions list.  The HAKUNA MATATA (IMO 9354167) and PINOCCHIO (IMO 9400112) were previously identified in June 2025 as part of Iran’s shadow fleet.  Following a demonstrated change in circumstances, namely the removal of these vessels from the shadow fleet and their sale to non-sanctioned/U.S.-aligned operators, OFAC has effectuated their removal from the SDN List, and these vessels will be able to reintegrate into the ranks of licit maritime operators.

SANCTIONS IMPLICATIONS

As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of the designated or blocked persons described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC.  In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked.  Unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, or exempt, OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of blocked persons.

Violations of U.S. sanctions may result in the imposition of civil or criminal penalties on U.S. and foreign persons.  OFAC may impose civil penalties for sanctions violations on a strict liability basis.  OFAC’s Economic Sanctions Enforcement Guidelines provide more information regarding OFAC’s enforcement of U.S. economic sanctions.  The prohibitions include the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any designated or blocked person, or the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person.  Non-U.S. persons are also prohibited from causing or conspiring to cause U.S. persons to wittingly or unwittingly violate U.S. sanctions, as well as engaging in conduct that evades U.S. sanctions.  Individuals located in the U.S. or abroad who provide information about sanctions violations to FinCEN’s whistleblower incentive program may be eligible for awards if the information they provide leads to a successful enforcement action that results in monetary penalties exceeding $1,000,000.  In addition, financial institutions and other persons may risk exposure to sanctions for engaging in certain transactions or activities with designated or otherwise blocked persons.

Furthermore, engaging in certain transactions involving the persons designated today may risk the imposition of secondary sanctions on participating foreign financial institutions.  OFAC can prohibit or impose strict conditions on opening or maintaining, in the United States, a correspondent account or a payable-through account of a foreign financial institution that knowingly conducts or facilitates any significant transaction on behalf of a person who is designated pursuant to the relevant authority.

The power and integrity of OFAC sanctions derive not only from OFAC’s ability to designate and add persons to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List), but also from its willingness to remove persons from the SDN List consistent with the law.  The ultimate goal of sanctions is not to punish, but to bring about a positive change in behavior.  For information concerning the process for seeking removal from an OFAC list, including the SDN List, or to submit a request, please refer to OFAC’s guidance on Filing a Petition for Removal from an OFAC List.

Click here for more information on the persons designated today.