Sanctions News

The United States said on Wednesday it plans to call for U.N. sanctions against vessels identified as taking part in circumvention of United Nations resolutions to combat North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.The British-based Open Source Center issued a report on Wednesday saying that in the past year it had tracked a number of non-Korean flagged vessels transporting North Korean coal and iron ore to ports in China, in violation of U.N. sanctions.Speaking at a meeting of the U.N.

The U.S. imposed sanctions on Monday on three vessels and their owners for delivering oil and gas products to Yemen's Houthis, as Washington piled pressure on the Iran-backed rebels over their attacks on Red Sea shipping.The sanctions targeted Marshall Islands-registered Zaas Shipping & Trading Co and Great Success Shipping Co, and Mauritius-registered Bagsak Shipping Co and the cargo vessels they used to deliver oil and gas products to the Houthi-controlled port of Ras Isa, the U.S.

Dutch prosecutors said on Friday they had summoned shipbuilder Damen Shipyards on suspicion of violating EU sanctions against Russia and opened a separate case against the company and some of its executives for corruption.The company denied both sets of accusations.

The United States on Wednesday issued new sanctions targeting Iran's oil exports, including against a China-based "teapot" oil refinery, as President Donald Trump's administration seeks to ramp up pressure on Tehran."Teapot" is an industry term for small independent oil refiners.The U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement the action would increase pressure on Chinese importers of Iranian oil as Trump seeks to restore his "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran, which includes…

A vessel chartered by Chevron carrying some 500,000 barrels of Venezuelan oil is about to complete the discharge of the cargo at a Venezuelan port, according to shipping data and a source, following state company PDVSA's order to return the crude amid payment uncertainty related to U.S. sanctions.At least nine tankers Chevron had chartered to carry Venezuelan crude to the U.S. in coming weeks as part of the wind down of its U.S. license through May 27 are now stalled in the Caribbean…

The Trump administration imposed sanctions on Iranian oil trading networks on Thursday, including on a China-based crude oil storage terminal linked via a pipeline to an independent refinery, just days before direct talks between the U.S. and Iran.The sanctions came after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. will hold direct talks with Iran on Saturday in Oman. President Donald Trump said on Monday that Iran would be in "great danger" if the talks were unsuccessful.The U.S.

Winward’s latest report, focused on Q1 2025, indicates a major change in how vessels experiencing GPS jamming are appearing on tracking maps.The average distance vessels “jump” to when their AIS is jammed grew from 600km in Q4 2024 to 6,300km in Q1 2025. “This distance completely disrupts trade and safety measures at sea, making it nearly impossible to track vessels within any realistic or relevant geographical vicinity,” says Windward.“The main GPS jamming patterns we saw in Q4 were dense areas and smaller circles.

During the first quarter of 2025, Russian oil exports have fallen 6% year-on-year. Clean tanker exports were down 13% while dirty tanker exports fell 4%. “Despite the fall, it appears that exports have mostly been unaffected by the recent sanctions,” says Niels Rasmussen, Chief Shipping Analyst at BIMCO.In early January, the Biden Administration ramped up the pressure on Russian oil exports by sanctioning more than 180 ships and several individuals and companies involved in Russian…

Two OFAC-sanctioned VLCCs remain stranded outside Bangladeshi waters with no prospects of a final resting place, reports cash buyer GMS, and this is now seeing cash buyers and ship recyclers being vigilant in their due diligence prior to negotiating on units.There are reportedly still a few more units in cash buyer hands that are waiting to be introduced for a recycling resale. However, given the fate that the behemoth duo has run into outside Bangladesh, it remains to be seen how these pending and even future dealings with candidates from sanctioned source(s) will eventually transpire…

The Panama Maritime Authority (PMA) has officially deregistered 107 Panamanian-flagged vessels listed under international sanctions, with an additional 18 currently undergoing the deregistration process.The deregistered vessels had been identified for compliance concerns or were listed on sanctions list issued by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the EU and the UK.To prevent high-risk vessels from entering the Panamanian Registry, the pre-registration analysis process…

Russia's leading tanker group Sovcomflot's saw transportation volumes drop around 16% to 63 million metric tons last year compared to 2023, Russian news agency Interfax reported on Friday, citing the group's CEO Igor Tonkovidov as saying.The United States and the European Union imposed sanctions on state-controlled Sovcomflot and its fleet in 2024 in an effort to reduce Russia's revenue from oil sales that it can use to finance its war in Ukraine. The company's net profit dropped by 55% to $424 million last year.Sovcomflot hopes that the transportation volume of oil…

The United States reached deals on Tuesday with Ukraine and Russia on a truce in the Black Sea and a pause in attacks on energy facilities, with Washington also pledging to push for the lifting of some financial sanctions against Moscow.The separate agreements are the first formal commitments by the warring sides since the inauguration of Donald Trump, who is pushing for an end to the war and a rapid rapprochement with Moscow that has alarmed Kyiv and European countries.The U.S.

Two tankers hit by U.S. sanctions are due to offload Russian Arctic Oil in Syria for the first time, days after Moscow made its first known delivery of diesel there in more than a decade, according to LSEG data, a government source and local TV.One of the tankers, Aquatica, with some 100,000 tons of Russian oil onboard, is set to offload in Baniyas port soon, according to a government source and pro-government Syria TV.The vessel arrived on Thursday, but has yet to offload, according to the TV report and the government source.The second tanker…

Iranian oil shipments into China are set to fall in the near-term after new U.S. sanctions on a refiner and tankers, driving up shipping costs, but traders said they expect buyers to find workarounds to keep at least some volumes flowing.Washington on Thursday imposed new sanctions on entities including Shouguang Luqing Petrochemical, a "teapot," or independent refinery in east China's Shandong province, and vessels that supplied oil to such plants in China, the top buyers of…

The U.S. on Thursday issued new Iran-related sanctions, targeting entities including for the first time a Chinese "teapot", or independent refinery, and vessels that supplied crude oil to such processing plants.It was Washington's fourth round of sanctions on Iran's oil sales since President Donald Trump said in February he was re-imposing a "maximum pressure" campaign including efforts to drive down the country's exports to zero. Trump aims to stop Tehran from obtaining a nuclear…

A ship carrying Russian crude transferred from three smaller tankers that are under U.S. sanctions unloaded last week at a Chinese port, shiptracking data shows, ending an unusual month-long voyage highlighting the efforts of producers and traders to keep Moscow's oil flowing despite tightened curbs.The Panama-flagged Daban, one of dozens of non-sanctioned vessels drawn to the Russian oil trade by fat margins following the January 10 U.S. sanctions, was received at a berth run by the privately-controlled Qingdao Haiye Group at the port of Qingdao…

A second tanker under U.S. sanctions is moored near the Syrian port of Banias and may deliver a diesel cargo from Russia, data shows, as Moscow and Damascus strengthen ties.Moscow backed former Syrian autocrat Bashar al-Assad during more than a decade of civil war in Syria, but wants to improve relations with the new interim leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, as Russia wants to retain the use of its two military bases in the country.According to LSEG data, the Barbados-flagged Proxima, with around 30…

The United States imposed sanctions on Thursday on Iran's Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad and some Hong Kong-flagged vessels that are part of a shadow fleet that helps disguise Iranian oil shipments, the Treasury Department said.President Donald Trumpre-imposed a "maximum pressure" policy on Iran in February that includes efforts to drive its oil exports to zero in order to stop Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and funding militant groups.Paknejad "oversees the export of tens…

Russia shipped a diesel cargo to Syria onboard a tanker under U.S. sanctions, the first known such direct supply to the Middle Eastern country in more than a decade, LSEG data showed.The final destination of the cargo is unclear. Russia has two main military installations in Syria: an air base in Hmeimim and a naval base in Tartous, integral to Russia's military reach in the Middle East and Africa.Russia's control over the bases is under threat following the sudden fall of Bashar al-Assad last year.

On February 21, 2025, the Office of the US Trade Representative (UST) released a notice of a proposal to impose wide-ranging fees on shipping companies and vessels with a Chinese nexus. The USTR has yet to release regulatory or administrative language that implements the proposals, and there is no guarantee this will actually happen. Interested parties should consider submitting comments as well as reviewing their charterparty and other relevant agreementsSUMMARY OF USTR PROPOSALSThe USTR notice does not set forth a single unified scheme of fees…

The EU has just adopted its 16th sanctions package against Russia. The package targets systemically important sectors of the Russian economy such as energy, trade, transport, infrastructure and financial services.To curb the risk of our sanctions being bypassed, certain provisions of the 16th package are now also mirrored in the Belarus sanctions regime. The EU has in addition updated and strengthened its sanctions regimes concerning Crimea and Sevastopol, and the non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk…

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has issued its annual Flag State Performance Table for 2024/25, voicing concerns about four newcomers.The Table provides an analysis of the extent to which flag State administrations adhere to their responsibilities to follow global standards and regulations governing safety, environmental protection and the employment conditions of seafarers – as adopted by the IMO and ILO.The latest ICS Table confirms that the vast majority of the global shipping industry is registered with flag States that strictly enforce global regulations…

“When a country that exports large quantities imposes tariffs, it risks working against its own interests,” says Stamatis Tsantanis, Chairman & CEO of Greek shipping companies Seanergy Maritime and Maritime United.“Other nations adjust by sourcing commodities elsewhere. For example, the first time President Trump imposed tariffs on various goods, China responded by rerouting its imports of maize, corn, and grains to countries like Brazil and other parts of Latin America,” he says.“From a trade perspective, this pattern remains consistent.