ICYMI: U.S. Unable To Auction Iranian Oil Aboard Seized Vessel

(New York, N.Y.) — The Biden Administration has reportedly been unable to auction off the 800,000 barrels of seized Iranian oil aboard the Marshall Islands-flagged vessel SUEZ RAJAN, one of the more than 300 foreign-flagged vessels that comprise Iran’s Ghost Armada, because companies that manage the process of unloading tankers are fearful of Iranian retaliation and are refusing the business. The vessel has remained in the Gulf of Mexico since May 2023, one month after it was seized by the U.S. and more than one year after its illicit cargo was first detected by United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI).

The U.S. Navy says that since 2021, Iran has harassed, attacked, or interfered with nearly 20 internationally flagged merchant vessels. In April, Iran seized a U.S.-bound oil tanker in international waters; in May, a Panama-flagged oil tanker was targeted between ports in the United Arab Emirates (UAE); and in June, U.S. and U.K. naval forces had to thwart another Iranian interference with a commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz.

UANI CEO Ambassador Mark D. Wallace told the Wall Street Journal that “the U.S. cannot enforce oil smuggling sanctions if the shipping and related industry businesses live in fear of Iranian retaliation. Without real American deterrence, Iran can act with impunity to defeat even the best crafted sanctions laws.”

Last month, UANI Chairman Senator Joseph I. Lieberman urged Congress and the Biden Administration “to ensure that the U.S. military has the necessary resources to effectively deter Iran’s malign maritime behavior. The number of incidents suggests the current capabilities are apparently insufficient for this purpose. President Biden could also order substantially greater naval forces to the region to protect the interests of the U.S. and our regional allies in international waters and respond to some of these incidents with military action, if necessary.”  

Fully enforcing U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil was further complicated on Tuesday with the election of Panama’s Arsenio Dominguez to lead the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the UN shipping agency responsible for the safety and security of shipping and combating illicit maritime activities. 

As UANI Advisory Board Member Governor Jeb Bush observed in The Washington Post earlier this year, “the Iranian regime would face significant hurdles in smuggling its oil and gas around the world” without Panama’s support. More than 40 percent of the vessels suspected by UANI of having carried Iranian oil are flagged by the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP).  

UANI Chief of Staff Claire Jungman reacted to the IMO vote by telling Reuters that "Panama's association with enabling sanctions evasions through the use of its flagged tankers for transporting sanctioned Iranian oil warrants a careful re-evaluation of our maritime choices."

To read UANI’s report, Oceans of Deceit: Iran's Deceptive Shipping Practices and Exploitation of the Maritime Industry, please click here.

To read UANI’s resource, Stop the Hop II: The Ghost Armada Grows, please click here. 

To read UANI’s resource, Iran’s Threat to Maritime Security, please click here.

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