US Sanctions Network Linked to Iran’s Shadow Fleet

The United States has expanded its sanctions targeting Iran and actors allegedly linked to the country. In a statement, the US Department of the Treasury announced that Washington had taken action against a criminal network providing fake flag and registration documents to vessels belonging to Iran’s so-called “shadow fleet”. According to the department, Indian national Suniel Kumar Sharma and his wife, Jaspreet Preeti Shahid, have established companies over more than a decade that operated as ship registries and maritime service providers for countries and territories including Guyana, Eswatini, Aruba, Mali, Mozambique, Malawi, Sint Maarten and Timor-Leste.

The companies reportedly sold fraudulent registrations and certificates to vessels illegally transporting Iranian oil. The department stated that most of the countries concerned had publicly denied the validity of the fraudulent ship registry records. Under the US sanctions decision, 13 individuals and entities linked to the network established by Sharma were targeted. The statement also noted that a Türkiye-based company providing ground handling services to Iran in the aviation sector had been included in the sanctions list.

The US Department of the Treasury thanked those who helped expose the alleged misconduct and called on countries, authorities and the maritime industry to take action. The statement urged stakeholders to verify vessel registrations and prevent ships operating as part of the shadow fleet from accessing territorial waters and ports.

The measures were taken under the Trump administration’s “Economic Fury” campaign, which aims to cut off revenue sources that Iran allegedly uses to finance what Washington describes as “terrorist activities, weapons proliferation and proxy forces across the Middle East”.