The US department of the treasury’s office of foreign assets control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on multiple vessels linked to India as part of a sweeping action against Iran’s sanctions-evasion network, targeting ships accused of transporting Iranian oil and petroleum products worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Among the vessels named are those owned or managed by India-based companies, a move that places India-linked shipping operations directly in the spotlight of Washington’s latest crackdown on Tehran’s so-called shadow fleet.
In
a statement issued on Thursday, OFAC says it had sanctioned 29 vessels and their management firms for using deceptive shipping practices to export Iranian petroleum and petroleum products, primarily to end-users in Asia. The action also targets Hatem Elsaid Farid Ibrahim Sakr, an Egyptian businessman whose companies are linked to seven of the sanctioned vessels, along with a wider network of shipping firms operating across jurisdictions, including India, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Marshall Islands and Panama.
India-linked entities named in the action include the Barbados-flagged Flora Dolce, owned and managed by India-based Rukbat Marine Services Co, which OFAC says has transported millions of barrels of Iranian fuel oil since April 2025.
The Panama-flagged Auroura, owned and operated by India-based Golden Gate Ship Management, was cited for carrying millions of barrels of Iranian petroleum products, including naphtha and condensate.
Another vessel, Ramya, operated and managed by India-based Darya Shipping Pvt Ltd, has transported more than 100,000 barrels of Iranian petroleum products since September 2025, according to the treasury department.
OFAC says the sanctioned vessels form part of Iran’s shadow fleet, a network that relies on obscure ownership structures, frequent flag changes and complex management arrangements to mask the origin of oil shipments and evade international sanctions. These vessels have been involved in transporting Iranian crude oil as well as products such as fuel oil, bitumen, naphtha and condensate, with significant volumes shipped in 2025.
Announcing the action, John K. Hurley, under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence in the treasury department says the measures are aimed at choking off revenue streams that Iran uses to fund its military and weapons programmes. “As president Trump has said repeatedly, the US will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon,” Mr Hurley says, adding that the treasury department would continue to deprive the Iranian regime of petroleum revenues.
According to OFAC, the latest designations were imposed under Executive Order 13902, which targets Iran’s petroleum and petrochemical sectors. Since president Trump resumed office, his administration has sanctioned more than 180 vessels involved in shipping Iranian oil and petroleum products, driving up costs for exporters and reducing the revenue Iran earns per barrel.
The treasury department also highlighted the role of Mr Sakr and his companies, including UAE-based Red Sea Ship Management LLC and High Seas Petroleum LLC, in coordinating shipments of Iranian oil, in some cases in cooperation with entities linked to Iran’s ministry of defence. Several vessels managed by Mr Sakr’s network have also made port calls to Houthi-controlled ports in Yemen, according to OFAC.
As a result of the sanctions, all property and interests in property of the designated persons and entities that are in US or under the control of US persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. The restrictions also extend to entities owned 50% or more by sanctioned parties, with violations potentially attracting civil or criminal penalties.
The treasury department says the objective of the sanction’s regime is not punishment alone but to bring about a change in behaviour, even as it signalled that further action remains possible against networks involved in facilitating Iran’s oil exports, despite international restrictions.
