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US announces shipping sanctions aimed at Houthis, Iran
US Treasury has added more vessels and companies to those it says are facilitating and funding Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea
The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has designated one company in Hong Kong, Cielo Marine Ltd, and another in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Global Tech Marine Services, as shippers of Iranian commodities for Iranian military-backed Houthi "financial facilitator" Sa’id al-Jamal’s financial network.
OFAC has also put a block on four vessels in which the two companies have an interest. The Treasury said revenue from the sale of Iranian commodities "supports the Houthis and their continued attacks against international shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden".
“The US continues to take action against the illicit Iranian financial networks that fund the Houthis and facilitate their attacks,” US Undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E Nelson said in a statement.
Vessels that have been blocked include Mehle, owned and managed by Hong Kong-based Cielo Maritime Ltd, for shipping Iranian commodities to China in support of Sa’id al-Jamal while using forged shipping documents to disguise the origin of the cargo, according to the Treasury. Sincere 02, managed and operated by Marshall Islands-registered, United Arab Emirates-based Global Tech Marine Services is also accused of shipping Iranian commodities in support of Sa’id al-Jamal using forged documents and working in co-ordination with another sanctioned individual, Turkey-based Abdi Nasir Ali Mahamud.
Global Tech Marine Services also operates the vessels Molecule and Fortune Galaxy, both of which are alleged to have been involved in shipping Iranian commodities.
On 28 December, OFAC announced sanctions the US said were targeting the "network financing Houthi attacks on international shipping".
OFAC specifically designated one individual and three entities it claimed were responsible for facilitating the flow of Iranian financial assistance to Houthi forces and their "destabilising activities".
The US cited so-called Exchange Houses that move Iranian funds to "Houthi-aligned financial firms in Yemen".
“Today’s action underscores our resolve to restrict the illicit flow of funds to the Houthis, who continue to conduct dangerous attacks on international shipping and risk further destabilising the region,” US Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E Nelson said. “The United States, along with our allies and partners, will continue to target the key facilitation networks that enable the destabilising activities of the Houthis and their backers in Iran.”
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