US Treasury may allow purchase of sanctioned tankers on case basis

The US Treasury Department may permit companies to purchase sanctioned shipping vessels and reintegrate them into the legitimate shipping industry on a case-by-case basis, according to a government source and a person familiar with the situation. This policy would ensure that no sanctioned individual gains any advantage, while simultaneously reducing the fleet size and alleviating pressures on the global energy market, a US official disclosed to Platts, a subsidiary of S&P Global Energy.

According to another source with knowledge of the matter, the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) may be focusing on acquiring 50-80 sanctioned tankers owned by non-sanctioned entities. Around 20-30 owners might be amenable to expedient action, the source added.

As of September, a total of 1,225 tankers were sanctioned by the US, UK or EU, as reported by S&P Global Commodities at Sea in an Oct. 29 shadow tanker report. Out of those, 560 were sanctioned by the US. Shadow tankers are increasingly entering the compliant market due to soaring freight rates, according to a separate CAS market impact report issued on Oct. 23.

In 2026, 41 shadow-fleet crude tankers entered compliant trade by Oct. 20, with 68% maintaining full compliance as of the report's date. This trend was particularly evident in the third quarter, when mainstream tanker earnings experienced a significant surge, according to the report. Dirty Arab Gulf-China Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC) freight averaged around $197 per metric ton in September, marking a 77% increase from the previous month.

The CAS defines the shadow fleet as tankers that have transported Iranian or Russian oil within the past two years, vessels subject to US sanctions, and vessels with ambiguous or potentially fraudulent registration details.