Stranded Hormuz tanker linked to sanctioned Iranian oil magnate
TankerTrackers.com said the Arista has been stuck since March and belongs to a network tied to Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani.
By Lucas Ferreira · Science & Environment Writer
3 min read
A tanker reported by Iranian media to have gone aground in the Strait of Hormuz has been stationary since March, according to maritime monitoring service TankerTrackers.com. The service identified the vessel as the Arista and said it is tied to an operation managed by sanctioned Iranian oil businessman Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani.
The case has drawn attention because the United States and European Union have accused Shamkhani of playing a central role in shipping networks used to move Iranian and Russian oil despite Western sanctions. TankerTrackers.com said the Arista flies the Comoros flag, while Iranian media had described the ship as having run aground after following a “US-suggested route.”
Who is Shamkhani?
Al Jazeera identified Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani as an Iranian oil shipping magnate subject to multiple Western sanctions. He is the son of Ali Shamkhani, who Al Jazeera reported was a senior political adviser to Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
According to Al Jazeera, Ali Shamkhani led Iran’s Supreme National Security Council for 10 years until 2023. Al Jazeera reported that he was killed in the first Israeli-US strikes on Tehran on February 28, attacks it said also killed Khamenei and triggered war with Iran.
The Sarajevo-based Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project reported in March that Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani and his brother used assumed names and Caribbean “golden passports” to build a Dubai property portfolio worth $29 million. Shamkhani is not known to have publicly addressed the allegations, according to Al Jazeera.
Western allegations against the network
The US Treasury has sanctioned what it describes as the Shamkhani shipping empire. According to the Treasury, the network forms part of an Iranian and Russian oil smuggling operation, and the Arista is one of the vessels linked to it.
The Treasury says the network uses front companies to buy Iranian and Russian oil, falsifies shipping documents and moves cargoes between vessels to obscure their origin. It also alleges that buyers pay through their own front companies and that profits are routed through hedge funds and other money-laundering channels.
The US Treasury has said Shamkhani uses crude oil, petroleum product and liquefied petroleum gas tankers to generate billions of dollars for the Iranian and Russian governments. The European Commission has accused Shamkhani of using Milavous Group Ltd to mix Russian crude with petroleum products and rebrand them for export, concealing where the oil came from.
Sanctions in the US, EU and UK
The US first sanctioned Shamkhani last July as part of a wider set of Iran-related measures, according to Al Jazeera. In April, the Treasury announced further sanctions against his network.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the department was targeting “regime elites like the Shamkhani family” who, he said, profit at the expense of Iranians. The Treasury also described Shamkhani as heading a multibillion-dollar petroleum sales operation linked to senior levels of Iran’s government.
The EU sanctions tracker lists Shamkhani as sanctioned and describes him as a businessperson active in the Russian oil trade and a key figure in Russia’s “shadow fleet.” Al Jazeera described that fleet as hundreds of older, weakly regulated tankers used by Russia to export oil and fuel while avoiding Western sanctions imposed after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The UK government also announced sanctions against Shamkhani last August, including an asset freeze, travel ban and director disqualification. UK Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer said at the time that the measures targeted people operating for Iran and supporting activities that undermine Middle East stability and global security.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.