Trump’s New License Creates a Legal Exit for Iran’s Shadow Fleet

The Trump administration has opened a legal exit for the so‑called “shadow fleet” by issuing a license that allows the world’s largest ship‑breaking firm, GMS, to buy vessels sanctioned for transporting Iranian cargo for scrapping. U.S. and international officials say the move is aimed at squeezing Tehran’s funding streams used to purchase weapons.The Wall Street Journal reported on the 26th that the administration issued a license permitting GMS to purchase three vessels designated last year as sanctioned for links to shipping figure Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani. Those ships were among roughly 50 vessels sanctioned by the U.S. in that action.Officials and analysts say the decision provides shipowners in the shadow fleet — vessels that carry illicit cargo for Iran, Russia and others — a lawful route out of a network that has grown as sanctions tightened. GMS applied to the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) for a comprehensive license to scrap sanctioned ships, arguing that doing so would reduce the shadow fleet’s presence at sea.Shadow‑fleet vessels are typically older and poorly maintained compared with legitimate merchant ships, creating environmental and safety risks. After the U.S., the European Union and the U.K. tightened sanctions on Iran and Russia, the number of vessels attempting to evade restrictions surged. Clarkson Research estimates there are currently about 1,836 sanctioned vessels, including 55 container ships.“Some sanctioned shipowners want to scrap their vessels but have limited legal options,” said Richard Meade, an analyst at Lloyd’s List Intelligence. “If this licensing continues, it could provide a legitimate exit route from the shadow fleet.”Separately, officials approved scrapping for four ships that are part of an illicit shipping network controlled by Shamkhani. Shamkhani is the son of Ali Shamkhani, a former security adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader. Ali Shamkhani died in an Israeli airstrike early in the Iran war.