The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has cut off bunkering and repair services for ships involved in Iranian trade, pulling licenses for U.S. maritime service providers as part of the sanctions campaign branded “Operation Economic Outcast.” The move builds on measures first announced on August 24, 2026, when Treasury designated nearly 60 entities, individuals and vessels it said were enabling the Iranian regime’s illicit activities, including a network of vessel brokers, bunkering service providers and financial intermediaries operating across the UAE, Hong Kong, China, Singapore and Switzerland that facilitate the transportation and delivery of Iranian crude oil to markets in East Asia. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has compared the broader campaign to an economic “D-Day,” aimed at cutting off the revenue sustaining Tehran.
The license suspensions add a new enforcement layer targeting the physical support infrastructure that keeps Iran-linked tankers operating, rather than only the vessels and financial intermediaries previously designated. OFAC has separately warned shipping, insurance and financial firms to conduct enhanced due diligence on vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz and to carefully assess any requests from Iranian authorities or Iran-linked service providers, including three Iranian bodies OFAC says are involved in managing passage through the strait. Compliance lawyers have advised maritime, trading and financial firms with exposure to the Middle East and East Asia to immediately screen counterparties, vessel portfolios and transaction flows against the updated sanctions list given the expanded reach of the measures.
Source: Seatrade Maritime News — https://www.seatrade-maritime.com/latest-news
Tags: Iran Sanctions, OFAC, Shadow Fleet, Bunkering
