The United States has imposed sanctions on the Shipoil network, linked to Greek citizens and companies that US authorities say provided bunkering services to ships linked to the Iranian oil sector.
The measures were announced by the US Treasury Department through the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The sanctions list includes Hong Kong-based Shipoil Limited, Dubai-based Shipoil FZCO and Ship Fuels and Trade DMCC, as well as Greek citizens Almpertos “Alberto“ Tsoris and Georgios “George“ Tsoris.
According to the US Treasury Department, since at least 2023, the three companies have coordinated activities with already sanctioned Iranian entities, including the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), the Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Commercial Company (PGPICC), Triliance Petrochemical and the network of Iranian shipping and oil entrepreneur Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani. This concerns the provision of bunkering services - supplying vessels with fuel.
The US authorities point to specific operations in 2026. According to the Treasury, Alberto Tsoris coordinated, through Shipoil FZCO and Ship Fuels and Trade DMCC, the refueling of the sanctioned tanker MEDNA, formerly known as ANTHEA and SIRI. According to Washington, the ship was transporting crude oil for the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Iran.
Separately, the US Treasury Department claims that Georgi Tsoris used Shipoil FZCO and Ship Fuels and Trade DMCC to provide bunkering services to vessels affiliated with subsidiaries and companies designated by US authorities as fronts for the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL). Among the cases cited is the sanctioned Iranian ship BEHTA, which, according to US data, was provided with bunkering services in mid-2026.
The US department also states that the three companies in the Shipoil network operate as a single corporate structure, have common management and carry out financial transfers between them. According to the Treasury, Shipoil Limited transferred millions of dollars to Shipoil FZCO.
The case has direct implications in Greece. According to an investigation by the Greek newspaper “Kathimerini“ The network has a presence in Piraeus, with the publication citing an office of a company with the same name on Kolokotroni Street in the city. Kathimerini also reported that it had contacted the company for comment but had not received a response.
The Greek publication reported data from confidential reports by international organizations in the maritime sector, according to which the network has connections not only with Iranian oil structures, but also with the Shamkhani network, which is alleged to have participated in the international trade in Iranian and Russian oil.
According to Kathimerini, the sanctions were imposed unilaterally by Washington. The Greek authorities told the publication that in the absence of similar sanctions from the European Union, there is no legal basis for automatically imposing the same economic measures at the national level.