By Samah Abdul Fattah | 2025-02-03

The imposition of sanctions on the vessels and companies that operate the Iranian regime's shadow fleet serve as a vital tool in curbing the regime's malign activities, experts told Al-Fassel.

These include its nuclear project, its development and sale of missiles and drones that fuel regional conflicts, and its financing of regional proxies across the Middle East, which have become a source of threat to many countries.

The "ghost ships" that form Iran's shadow fleet are still actively involved in oil smuggling operations to circumvent the international sanctions imposed on Iran.

The Iranian regime formed the "shadow fleet" to evade international sanctions on its nuclear program and its regional interference via proxy forces, Iranian affairs expert Fathi al-Sayed told Al-Fassel.

The shadow fleet "consists of dozens of oil tankers that smuggle Iranian oil covertly to a number of countries that cooperate with Iran, which allowed Iran to reap billions of dollars," he said, which enable it to finance its projects.

Sanctions are necessary "to stop this financing scheme and deter Iran from continuing to pursue its subversive projects," he added.

He pointed to the recent exposure and US blacklisting of 35 ships and commercial entities involved in this activity.

What is more important than the disclosure of names is "the exposure of the routes used by these vessels, and the ports and countries where they dock to unload their cargo to prevent this fleet from continuing to operate,' he said.

Movement of sanctioned oil

Shadow fleets are routinely used by countries that want to evade maritime surveillance during times of war or blockade, military expert Wael Abdul Muttalib told Al-Fassel.

Heavy "ghost ship" activity has been observed off the Malaysian coast, "a strategic point between the Arabian Sea and the South China Sea," he said, noting that most sanctioned Iranian oil makes its way to China.

As for the method used, he said, the basic idea is to use "old vessels and oil tankers that are not equipped with modern technology to escape surveillance."

The ships' names and the flags they fly are changed to further this deception.

Smuggling operations "either take place via a single tanker that sets off from Iranian ports to its destination, or the oil is transported to a meeting point where the oil is transferred to another tanker," he said.

The second tanker "carries out the task of reaching the specified destination."

Tracking these operations is time consuming and complex, he said, whether it is done via traditional methods or with satellites.