Bloomberg: Trump's First Sanctions Against Iran Hit Three Oil Ships At Once

They helped transport Iranian oil to China.

The first round of sanctions by US President Donald Trump against several ships carrying Iranian oil falls short of the “maximum pressure” policy that his administration promised, Bloomberg reports, citing shippers and analysts.

In particular, the restrictions were imposed on an oil vessel and two Aframax ships that, according to the Treasury Department, helped transport Iranian oil to China. In addition, the sanctions also affected several legal entities and individuals in different countries involved in the trade conducted by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Tehran and its front company Sepehr Energy Jahan Nama Pars, against which the restrictions were imposed.

“In the days leading up to Trump’s inauguration on January 20, shipping executives and oil traders were nervous about a potential large sanctions package aimed at crippling Tehran, given how harshly he opposed the Islamic Republic during his first term,” the article recalled.

But the market has calmed down recently as Trump has softened his stance on Iran, stressing that he wants to work toward a new nuclear deal that will allow the country to “grow and prosper in peace.”

For his part, Junjie Ting, a shipping analyst at Oil Brokerage Ltd, said Thursday’s measures, similar to sanctions imposed by the Biden administration in recent years, have had little impact on Iran’s oil exports.

“This is a warning shot,” the analyst said.

According to Bloomberg, the three vessels hit by sanctions included a 21-year-old Aframax tanker that flies the flag of Panama.

“In 2024, it took on more than 700,000 barrels of Iranian oil from a tanker owned by Tehran in waters near Singapore that are known to be a site for ship-to-ship transfers of oil. The vessel was also used to ferry barrels from the Russian Pacific port of Kozmino. Last month, the fleet involved in that trade was hit with tough sanctions,” the publication recalled.

The other two tankers were the Panamanian-flagged Gioiosa and the Hong Kong-flagged Star Forest.

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