The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced this Wednesday a new package of sanctions against two entities from Iran, which it blames for imposing a "mandatory insurance" on ships wishing to cross the Strait of Hormuz. The measures also extend to eight vessels and the eight companies that own them, which Washington links to a "network of extortion" driven by Tehran.
According to the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the United States (OFAC, for its acronym in English), the main targets of these sanctions are the Persian Gulf Maritime Insurance Company (PGMIC) and the "HormuzSafe" Maritime Services Authority.
According to the Treasury, the PGMIC "intermediates and issues insurance policies approved by the Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA)" --the body promoted by Iran in early May to oversee maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, also sanctioned by Washington-- although "most of the risks are created by Iran itself, such as the seizure of vessels."
For its part, "HormuzSafe" presents itself as a digital insurer promoted by the Iranian Ministry of Economy that provides "reliable" maritime services, generates resources for the Revolutionary Guard, and accepts payments in Bitcoin and other digital assets, which, according to the United States, allows Iranian authorities to evade U.S. financial restrictions.
"The regime intermediates policies approved by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) designed to extract revenue under the pretext of maritime services, including payments in digital assets to evade sanctions, which allows Iran to strengthen control over shipping activity and channel funds towards IRGC operations," details the Department in an official note.
The package of financial punishments also includes sanctions on eight ships --seven oil tankers and one chemical products tanker-- sailing under the flags of Vanuatu, Barbados, Mozambique, and the Marshall Islands. Washington includes them in the so-called "ghost fleet" that transports "millions" of barrels of crude oil and other petroleum derivatives of Iranian origin, as well as each of the owning companies of these vessels.