Info:
Empire Navigation has pleaded guilty to smuggling sanctioned Iranian crude oil and agreed to pay a $2.4 million fine, newly unsealed U.S. court documents.
The now-public case against Empire Navigation, which faces three years of probation under the plea agreement, marks the first public acknowledgement by U.S. prosecutors that America seized some 1 million barrels of oil from the tanker Suez Rajan.
The saga surrounding the ship further escalated tensions between Washington and Iran, even as they work toward a trade of billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets in South Korea for the release of five Iranian Americans held in Tehran. The court filings also shed light on the covert world of Iranian crude oil smuggling in the face of Western sanctions since the collapse of its 2015 nuclear deal — an operation that has only grown in scale over this year.
The U.S. and its allies have been seizing Iranian oil cargoes since 2019. That’s led to a series of attacks in the Mideast attributed to the Islamic Republic, as well as ship seizures by Iranian military and paramilitary forces that threaten global shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20% of the world’s oil passes.
Attention began focusing on the Suez Rajan in February 2022, when the group United Against Nuclear Iran said it suspected the tanker carried oil from Iran’s Khargh Island, its main oil distribution terminal in the Persian Gulf. Satellite photos and shipping data analyzed at the time by the AP supported the allegation.
The newly unsealed court documents rely on satellite images, as well as documents, to show that the Suez Rajan sought to mask its loading of Iranian crude oil from one tanker by trying to instead claim the oil came from another.
For months, the ship sat in the South China Sea off the northeast coast of Singapore before suddenly sailing for the Texas coast without explanation. The vessel discharged its cargo to another tanker, which released its oil in Houston in recent days. The court documents seen Thursday confirm the U.S. government seized the oil.
A lawyer for Empire Navigation, Apostolos Tourkantonis, pleaded guilty to a single charge of violating the sanctions on Iran. Empire, based in Athens, Greece, did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Thursday.
The U.S. Treasury has said Iran’s oil smuggling revenue supports the Quds Force, the expeditionary unit of the Revolutionary Guard that operates across the Mideast. The Guard is suspected to be closely involved in the trade, involving hundreds of vessels that try to mask their movements and can hide their ownership through foreign shell companies.
But the Suez Rajan case was unique at the time of the transfer because it was owned by the Los Angeles-based private equity firm Oaktree Capital Management. That likely gave American prosecutors an edge in pursuing this case. Oaktree, which has repeatedly declined to discuss the case, sold the vessel fully to Empire in late May.
According to the U.S. Treasury Department – Individuals and entities engaged in certain transactions involving petroleum or petroleum products from Iran or certain Iran-related persons on the SDN List should be aware thatengaging in such conduct may result in designation or other sanctions under U.S. sanctions authorities unless an exception applies. Those who knowingly engage in significant transactions for the purchase, acquisition, sale, transport, or marketing of petroleum or petroleum products from Iran — or knowingly provide significant support to an Iranian person on OFAC’s List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN List), such as the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), and the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) — are at serious risk of being targeted by the United States for sanctions, regardless of the location or nationality of those engaging in such activities. Further, persons providing bunkering services to vessels transporting petroleum or petroleum products from Iran risk being subject to sanctions unless an applicable waiver or exception applies.The United States continues to take strong action to deny the Government of Iran funds derived from the illicit exportation of petroleum or petroleum products from Iran;
Industry:
Shipping Industry
Also Known As:
Empire Navigation, Inc
Country:
Greece
Address:
88 Vouliagmenis Avenue, Elliniko 167 77, Athens, Greece
Phone:
+30 211 102 7100
Website:
www.empirenavigation.com
E-mail:
empire@empirenavigation.com
Person of interests:
Stamatis Molaris
Reason for the color:
» Greek shipper pleads guilty to smuggling Iranian crude oil;