US adds Marshall Islands-based owner and its tanker pair to sanctions list

The United States continues to sanction entities in efforts to stop Iran and its proxies from moving crude.

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned Gemini Marine, a Marshall Islands-based entity named as the owner and operator of two tankers which have also been sanctioned, a Gabon-flagged Suezmax named Izumo (formerly Cathay Phoenix) and Cook Island-flagged Aframax Frunze.

OFAC alleges that the 2001-built Izumo has transported petroleum products on behalf of Iran and the Iran-linked Houthi rebel militia in Yemen, while Frunze has been linked to the transport of Iranian crude oil. Both vessels have also been associated with Russian oil shipments, according to OFAC. 
The fresh sanctions against the tankers are a continuation of the ongoing efforts by US President Biden’s administration to choke the supply of weapons and funds to the Houthi milita in Yemen – widely seen as a proxy for Iran.

However, data from shipping platform Kpler shows that Iranian crude oil exports have reached their highest level since 2019, with loadings at Iranian ports reaching about 1.92m barrels per day in September 2024.