On March 6, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated two shipping companies and two vessels that reportedly shipped commodities as part of a network used by Sa’id al-Jamal, a Houthi financial facilitator backed by the Iran-based Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (“IRGC-QF”). OFAC designated Marshall Islands-based Reneez Shipping Limited and Hong Kong-based Hongkong Unitop Group Ltd in connection with the transport of Iranian commodities for al-Jamal’s network. OFAC also identified two vessels– the Reneez and the Eternal Fortune – as blocked property in which the newly-designated companies have an interest. According to OFAC, while transporting Iranian commodities, the Eternal Fortune conducted a ship-to-ship transfer with the Artura, a vessel also tied to al-Jamal’s network. On February 27, 2024, OFAC identified the Artura and designated two other shipping companies based in Hong-Kong and the Marshall Islands for their roles in the shipment of Iranian commodities on behalf of al-Jamal. Al-Jamal has been designated in the United States since 2021 for supporting the IRGC-QF. The IRGC-QF has been designated in the United States since 2007 for supporting multiple terrorist groups.
These designations were imposed pursuant to the counterterrorism authority in Executive Order 13224, as amended. As a result of these designations, all property and interests in property of the designated persons within the United States or within the possession or control of a U.S. person are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions involving a designated person. Entities owned 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked.