US targets five bunker companies in latest sanctions campaign against Iran

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Monday (24 August) sanctioned five bunker companies, alleging they supplied marine fuel to vessels carrying Iranian crude oil and to ships linked to the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL).

US reportedly imposed sanctions on IRISL in late 2019, describing it as “the preferred shipping line for Iranian proliferators and procurement agents”, which included transporting items intended for Iran’s ballistic missile programme.

“Sanctioned Iranian actors, to include those associated with its armed forces, rely on a vast network of shipping facilitators in multiple jurisdictions to enable the transportation and delivery of Iranian crude oil to markets in East Asia, to include vessel brokers, bunkering service providers, and financial intermediaries,” US OFAC said in a statement.

Since at least 2023, US OFAC said Hong Kong-based Shipoil Limited and its sister companies, Dubai-based Shipoil FZCO and Ship Fuels and Trade DMCC—operated by Greek nationals Almpertos “Alberto” Tsoris and Georgios “George” Tsoris—coordinated with “sanctioned Iranian actors” including the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), to provide bunkering services to vessels carrying Iranian crude oil and other petroleum products.  

In 2026, Alberto Tsoris allegedly coordinated with NITC and the Shamkhani network via Shipoil FZCO and Ship Fuels and Trade DMCC to provide bunkering to the sanctioned oil tanker MEDNA (IMO: 9281683), formerly known as the ANTHEA and SIRI, a vessel which has carried crude oil for Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff. 

Similarly, George Tsoris used Shipoil FZCO and Ship Fuels and Trade DMCC to provide vessel bunkering services to a mix of subsidiaries and front companies for IRISL. In 2026, UAE-based Unique Oasis Shipping Services LLC and Target Horizon Shipping LLC collaborated with Shipoil Limited and Ship Fuels and Trade DMCC to provide “hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of bunkering services to an IRISL-linked vessel”.  

In mid-2026, George Tsoris provided bunkering services to the sanctioned IRISL vessel BEHTA in coordination with IRISL subsidiary, UAE-based Good Luck Shipping LLC, and Unique Oasis Shipping Services LLC.

According to US OFAC, Shipoil Limited, Shipoil FZCO, and Ship Fuels and Trade DMCC operate within the same corporate network, share company leadership, and transfer funds between themselves. 

“Shipoil Limited has transferred millions of dollars to Shipoil FZCO,” it said.

Almpertos Tsoris, Shipoil FZCO, and Ship Fuels and Trade DMCC were designated pursuant to Executive Order 13902 for operating in the petroleum sector of the Iranian economy.  Shipoil Limited is being designated pursuant to Executive Order for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, Shipoil FZCO.

Georgios Tsoris, Good Luck Shipping LLC, Unique Oasis Shipping Services LLC, and Target Horizon Shipping LLC are being designated pursuant to Executive Order 13382 for having provided, or attempted to provide, financial, material, technological, or other support for, or goods or services in support of, IRISL.

Photo credit: tommao wang on Unsplash
Published: 26 August, 2026