Unique Insights on the Nearly 400 Iran-Linked Vessels Flagged by EIA

TLDR: 

• Tehran sold $144 billion of petroleum and petroleum products from 2021-2023
• Following the SHIP Act’s passage, a list of nearly 400 vessels, ports, and companies linked to Iran was released by the EIA
• Windward customers did NOT have to wait for this latest EIA announcement: 92% of these vessels were already marked as high or moderate risk before this announcement
• Most of these vessels are tankers, flying under noteworthy flags. The overall group engaged in +250 dark activities: 40% are related to the Iran regime

Iran’s Billions in Oil Exports 

Worrisome trends were revealed in the U.S. Energy Information Agency’s (EIA) first report about Iran’s petroleum exports, as required by the Stop Harboring Iranian Petroleum (SHIP) Act. 

According to the non-partisan Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD): 

“The report found that between 2021 and 2023, Tehran sold $144 billion of petroleum and petroleum products. This contrasts sharply with the “Maximum Pressure” period, during which Iran’s oil exports declined to just $16 billion in 2020. The trend has been both broad and consistent. Crude oil and condensate exports more than tripled between 2020 and 2023 to more than 1.59 million barrels per day. Iranian petroleum product exports increased more than 50 percent over the same period.” 

Passed earlier this year, the SHIP Act requires the American president to impose blocking sanctions and other restrictions on certain foreign persons, including owners and operators of ports, vessels, and refineries, involved in activities related to the transportation, processing, and refining of Iranian-origin crude oil or petroleum products. It demanded full compliance within 180 days.

Unique Insights on Nearly 400 Suspected Vessels

The U.S. Energy Authority recently released a list of nearly 400 vessels, ports, and companies linked to Iran – many not yet officially designated, but now under watch. With this list in hand, regulators are ramping up their scrutiny of Iranian-associated activities. 

Awareness of the list and taking proactive steps to protect yourself from upcoming regulatory risk is important. These vessels can be sanctioned overnight, you don’t want to be caught with cargo on board…

By the Numbers…

Windward identified and flagged 355 vessels from the list: 

• 350 of the 355 vessels are tankers:
  • Crude oil tankers – 43%
  • LPG tankers – 20% 
• Top 3 flags:
  • Panama – 24% 
  • Iran – 17% 
  • Guayna – 7% 
  • Total vessels flying flags of convenience – 46%
• Top 3 beneficial owner locations:
  • UAE – 23%
  • Iran – 17% 
  • China –13%
  • 15 vessels’ beneficial owners are registered or located in the EU (Greece, Cyprus, Bulgaria and the Netherlands) 

What can we learn from these insights? It’s unsurprising that the majority of vessels fall under the classic sanctions-evader profile – tankers, flying under flags of convenience. The China-Iran axis (often including Russia, as well) also remains strong, with two of the top beneficial owner locations being Iran and China. 

Deceptive Shipping Practices of Vessels Linked to Iran 

In the last two years, the vessels in this fleet engaged in:

• +250 dark activities – 40% of which were related to the Iran regime
• +190 location (GNSS) manipulations
• +100 illicit ship-to-ship (STS) operations
  • 48% of the meetings are related to the Russian regime and 34% are associated with Iran
• Meetings that occurred (hub locations):

The main behavioral pattern Windward spotted for this fleet: 

• Vessels leaving ports in SE Asia
• Engaging in deceptive shipping practices (DA, GNSS) in the Gulf
• Returning to SE Asia 

You Can’t Afford to Wait

Do you have the technology and visibility to protect your operations against risk BEFORE official designations are made? Are you confident that you aren’t trading with vessels that engaged in the illegal activities above? Can you detect sequences and patterns early enough to act? 

Windward has your back – 92% of the vessels EIA referred to were already marked as high or moderate risk before this announcement. With Windward’s newly-launched Organization Defined Risk, organizations can configure risk profiles for this fleet, to proactively track the vessels and refrain from engaging with them. 

This new international development highlights the importance of predictive intelligence and analytics, because you obviously can’t afford to wait for official government announcements to know which vessels potentially endanger your trading and shipping operations. 

I Don’t Want to Wait!