In a significant escalation of its sanctions campaign, the U.S. Department of the Treasury has imposed new measures targeting a UAE-based maritime network accused of smuggling Iranian oil worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The sanctions focus on Jugwinder Singh Brar, a shipping magnate operating through UAE-based companies Prime Tankers LLC and Glory International FZ-LLC, and his fleet of nearly 30 vessels. These ships are alleged to be part of Iran’s “shadow fleet,” facilitating clandestine oil transfers in violation of international sanctions.
The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) alleges that Brar’s network employed an intricate web of smaller Handysize tankers for coastal operations, conducting high-risk ship-to-ship (STS) transfers in waters off Iraq, Iran, the UAE, and the Gulf of Oman. In one notable operation, Brar’s vessels transported over 25,000 metric tons of petroleum products from Iran’s Bandar Abbas port to Oman and the UAE. The scheme involved blending Iranian petroleum with Iraqi products at Iraq’s Khor al-Zubair port before exporting with falsified documentation claiming purely Iraqi origin.
The investigation revealed sophisticated evasion tactics, including disabled or manipulated AIS systems to conceal vessel locations. In 2023, the Glory International-operated vessel NADIYA conducted illegal Iranian oil shipments on behalf of the Iranian military. The sanctioned vessels fly various flags of convenience, including Panama, which hosts fifteen of the vessels. Other vessels in the network operate under Barbados, Palau, Antigua and Barbuda, Comoros, Gambia, and Cook Islands flags.
Simultaneously, the U.S. Department of State sanctioned a Chinese terminal operator, Guangsha Zhoushan Energy Group Co Ltd, which owns and operates a crude oil and petroleum products terminal on Huangzeshan Island in Zhoushan, China. The terminal has reportedly acquired Iranian crude oil at least nine times between 2021 and 2025, including from U.S.-sanctioned vessels, amounting to the import of at least 13 million barrels of Iranian crude oil. The terminal is directly connected through the Huangzeshan–Yushan Under Sea Oil Pipeline to a nearby “teapot” refinery, referring to independent refineries that operate separately from major state companies.
