By Al-Fassel | 2024-03-19

The United States on March 15 sanctioned a shipping company whose vessel is involved in illicit shipments to China in support of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force (IRGC-QF) and Houthi financial facilitator Said al-Jamal.

Al-Jamal is under US sanctions already. His blacklisted network relies on a web of exchange houses throughout the Middle East to facilitate the movement of Iranian funds to Houthi-aligned financial firms in Yemen.

The Marshall Islands-registered shipping company Vishnu Inc. owns and manages the Lady Sofia, a vessel that on January 31 engaged in a ship-to-ship transfer with the recently sanctioned vessel Mehle, the US Treasury said.

Mehle "deceptively obscured its transfer of commodities to the Lady Sofia through 'spoofing' -- an automatic identification system (AIS) manipulation that masks the vessel's true location," it said.

"Disguised as a fictitious vessel called the 'Amor,' and incorrectly broadcasting its location as the South China Sea, the Mehle offloaded its illicit cargo to the Lady Sofia near Singapore," it added.

The Lady Sofia is currently traveling to China, carrying the Iranian commodities it received from the Mehle on behalf of Said al-Jamal.

The Mehle was identified on January 12 as property in which Cielo Maritime Ltd has an interest. Cielo Maritime Ltd is under sanctions for its links to al-Jamal.

"We remain committed to disrupting the IRGC-QF and the Houthis' attempts to evade US sanctions and fund additional terrorist attacks," said Treasury official Brian Nelson.

"The United States will continue to target the key funding streams that threaten civilians and peaceful international trade."