Iran Watch Listen · Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control

How to Prevent Iran from Evading Sanctions at Sea

·52 min·4 clips

Blake Pritchett reveals how U.S. sanctions present Iran with a stark choice: stop malign activities or face greater economic pressure.

This episode of the Iran Watch Listen podcast focuses on deceptive shipping practices Iran uses to evade U.S. sanctions and the U.S. government's advisory to counter them. Hosts Valerie Lindsay and Austin Bodetti from the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control are joined by U.S. Department of State experts Blake Pritchett and Jen Chalmers. The discussion centers on the May 14th maritime advisory issued by the State and Treasury Departments, which outlines illicit tactics and provides compliance guidance to industries. The advisory addresses Iran's continued sale of oil to countries like Venezuela and China and its smuggling of arms to the Houthis in Yemen despite sanctions. It lists specific deceptive practices, including disabling Automatic Identification Systems (AIS), physically altering vessel markings, and falsifying cargo documents. Ship-to-ship transfers, often conducted at night, are highlighted as a key method for Iran to obscure the origin and destination of oil shipments. The hosts note that Iran has become more sophisticated in obscuring its involvement in these longstanding tactics. A significant insight is that denying Iran oil revenue is a primary goal, with claims of over 2 million barrels per day taken off the market since May 2018. The experts state this has denied the regime access to roughly $65 billion in revenue, which they say funds malign activities. The advisory's approach is collaborative, aiming to share the compliance burden across sectors like shipping, finance, and insurance rather than targeting single entities. Positive industry responses are cited, including commodity brokers adopting contractual provisions against AIS disablement and banks using multi-factor risk analysis. A memorable development is the Panama Maritime Authority issuing fines up to $10,000 and possible deregistration for vessels deliberately deactivating tracking equipment. The Registry Information Sharing Compact (RISC), an agreement among flag registries to prevent "flag hopping" by sharing information on suspect vessels, is presented as an effective tool. The experts also describe Iran's use of civilian vessels for arms transfers, referencing specific interdictions by the U.S. Navy off the coast of Yemen in 2019 and 2020. The tone is educational and conversational, featuring a detailed policy discussion between experts and hosts. The style is interview-based, with the hosts asking specific questions to draw out practical examples and recent developments. Listeners interested in maritime security, sanctions enforcement, and nonproliferation policy would find this episode valuable. Those seeking a broader geopolitical debate or less technical analysis of Iran might choose to skip it.

As heard by us

A disciplined sanctions briefing that makes maritime evasion feel immediate and legible.

Iran Watch Listen opens with a clear briefing on how Iran uses deceptive shipping to evade U.S. sanctions and how the U.S. answers. The May 14 maritime advisory gives the piece its focus, and the episode does useful work connecting that policy thread to shipping, energy, metal,…

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You want a clear read on how Iran uses shipping to evade sanctions.

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