OFAC targets IRGC-backed insurance providers and shadow fleet vessels

OFAC imposed blocking sanctions on nine entities (two in Iran, five in Hong Kong, two in Marshall Islands) and eight vessels (three flagged in Barbados, two in Vanuatu, one in Marshall Islands, one in Mozambique, and one unknown-flagged) under its Iran (E.O. 13902) sanctions program. The action targets an IRGC-backed maritime insurance extortion scheme that forces commercial vessels to purchase mandatory "insurance" to transit the Strait of Hormuz—coverage nominally protecting against risks such as seizure that are overwhelmingly created by Iran itself, with one designated insurer accepting payment in digital assets to evade sanctions—as well as shadow fleet actors responsible for transporting Iranian crude oil and petroleum products to China and the UAE, which have collectively moved hundreds of thousands to millions of barrels of Iranian crude oil and petroleum products since as early as 2022.