UANI Visits South China Sea, Exposing Iran’s Ghost Fleet and Uncovering Evidence of Malaysia’s Support for Regime

UANI Calls for Sanctions in WSJ Op-Ed
 

(New York, NY) - As Malaysia’s foreign minister prepares to address the United Nations General Assembly, United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) is revealing exclusive findings from its recent trip to the South China Sea, where it confronted Iran’s ghost fleet of tankers, cargo ships, and bulk carriers, and the Malaysian bunker vessels providing them fuel.

In an op-ed in today’s Wall Street Journal, UANI’s chairman, Governor Jeb Bush, and CEO, Ambassador Mark D. Wallace, described how UANI’s marine tanker tracking team chartered a typical, nondescript supply vessel, then travelled 100 nautical miles unannounced and surreptitiously to the Eastern Outer Port Limits (EOPL), where sanctioned Iranian vessels have been engaging in illicit oil transfers in defiance of U.S. sanctions.

In today’s op-ed, Gov. Bush and Amb. Wallace identified Malaysia’s role in enabling this illicit floating city, and called for sanctions:

Iran’s floating city may be the regime’s lifeblood, but the Iran-linked ships can’t function without local Malaysian support vessels keeping them operational. United Against Nuclear Iran’s crew approached and identified dozens of small fuelers, nearly all which were Malaysian, ready to supply Iran’s ships. …

We urge the U.S. Treasury Department to impose immediate sanctions on Malaysia’s Pengerang Integrated Petroleum Complex and other Malaysian entities sustaining the Iranian regime. Without that support, the fleet will have few options to survive in the face of blockade. The U.S. should also impose sanctions on any Malaysian government entities and officials who enable this floating city …

Today UANI is releasing exclusive footage of its investigative trip, where it observed and approached multiple Iranian tankers and Malaysian fueling vessels.

Ambassador Wallace said:

After seeing this floating city of ghost tankers with our own eyes, it is clear it is serving as an illicit Malaysia-backed lifeline for the Iranian regime.

While responsible governments work to economically isolate the regime, Malaysia has afforded Tehran badly needed support to continue funding its military and terror operations. When Malaysia’s foreign minister speaks at the U.N. tomorrow, he should declare an immediate end to his country’s irresponsible support of illicit commerce. 

In the coming weeks UANI will be sharing more reporting, analysis, and policy recommendations based on its observations of Iran’s ghost fleet.

Click here to watch initial footage of UANI’s recent visit to the South China Sea.

Click here to read Gov. Bush and Amb. Wallace’s op-ed.

Click here to view UANI’s Tanker Tracker analysis, which is led by: Charlie Brown, a Singapore-based Senior Advisor and former Maritime Domain Awareness Advisor to the U.S. Pacific Fleet who has extensive experience in the maritime industry; and Jemima Shelley, a London-based Senior Research Analyst at UANI.