New Delhi: The US has sanctioned Maharashtra-based RN Ship Management and its directors for allegedly operating vessels carrying Iranian oil. The action is part of Washington’s broader effort to target a network of front companies in multiple countries involved in shipping sanctioned Iranian crude.
“As of early 2025, India-based RN Ship Management Pvt Ltd, led by Indian nationals Zair Husain Iqbal Husain Sayed and Zulfikar Hussain Rizvi Sayed, served as the operator of multiple vessels used by Sepehr Energy Jahan to ship Iranian oil, including the sanctioned vessel SOBAR,” the US Treasury said in a statement.
The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) also targeted six vessels, expanding sanctions on the shadow fleet of tankers Iran relies on to transport its oil exports, the statement said. The Trump administration has so far sanctioned over 170 vessels involved in carrying Iranian oil.
“The Iranian military, through the designated Armed Forces General Staff oil sales arm Sepehr Energy Jahan Nama Pars Company, uses an array of front companies and shadow fleet vessels to obfuscate its illicit activities and sell billions of dollars’ worth of Iranian oil annually,” the statement mentioned.
Last month, OFAC said it had imposed sanctions on Soniya Shrestha and her India-based Vega Star Ship Management; Varun Pula and his Marshall Islands–based Bertha Shipping Inc; and Iyappan Raja and his Marshall Islands–based Evie Lines Inc.
Ships owned by Bertha and Evie Lines were alleged to have transported millions of barrels of Iranian LPG to China, while Vega Star’s vessel reportedly carried Iranian LPG to Pakistan.
