Rebi

The US government has imposed sanctions on numerous entities and vessels involved in the transport of Iranian oil. The US government alleged that the sale of the oil was being used to fund the militant and destabilizing activities of Hezbollah and Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF). The 'Confidence P' (IMO: 9178044), 'Nova' (IMO: 9231224), 'Rival' (IMO: 9117818), and 'Tiyara' (IMO: 9231224), have also been placed under sanctions for their association with Abdul Jalil Mallah and his brother Luay al-Mallah, who was a recent addition to the sanctions list, while his brother, Abdul Jalil Mallah, has been described as being established in the illicit shipping business and frequently facilitating the transfer of Iranian oil for the benefit of Hezbollah and IRGD-QF. Both individuals and all their owned property have been sanctioned in the US jurisdiction. The Star Ocean Shipmanage Ltd. has been sanctioned, along with its three vessels: the 'Eternal Success' (IMO: 9307633), 'Eternal 8' (IMO: 9232448), and 'Eternal Peace' (IMO: 9259745), which were claimed to have carried out voyages that violated US sanctions on the IRGC-QF as recently as July 2024. The vessels reportedly have used deceptive practices, such as ship-to-ship transfers and AIS spoofing, to conceal their movements while transporting oil. The 'Serene I' (IMO: 9197832) has been sanctioned for loading and transporting IRGC-QF oil from Iran to China on behalf of Concepto Screen SAL Offshore, a company with alleged ties to Hezbollah. The owner of the tanker, the Dragon Road Ltd., based in the Marshall Islands, was also added to the sanctions list. The 'Feng Tau' (IMO: 9248473) was alleged to have been transporting oil from Iran to mainland China. Both the vessel and its Hong Kong-based owner, Tai Feng Hai Shipping Ltd., have been sanctioned.

Frontline Ltd. announced that Frontline Shipping Limited has agreed with Ship Finance International Limited ("Ship Finance") to terminate the long term charters for three very large crude carriers ("VLCCs"); Front Page, Front Serenade and Front Stratus upon the sale and delivery of the vessels by Ship Finance to an unrelated third party. Frontline has agreed to a total compensation payment to Ship Finance of $10.125 million for the termination of these charters, which will be paid by Frontline in the form of three promissory notes, and Frontline and FSL will be released from all of their other respective obligations in relation to these vessels. These transactions are expected to complete during the third quarter of 2018.