The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is issuing this updated advisory to alert persons globally to the significant U.S. sanctions risks for parties involved in petroleum shipments to the Government of Syria.1 This advisory also contains an updated annex, providing a list of vessels that have been involved in fuel shipments to Syria and are currently identified as blocked property on OFAC’s List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN List). Some of these shipments and transfers have involved Iranian-origin oil, and countries such as Iran and Russia have continued to provide petroleum shipments to the Government of Syria.
Petroleum shipments to Syria create significant sanctions risk under one or more sanctions programs for entities and individuals in the shipping industry, including shipping companies, vessel owners, managers, operators, insurers, and financial institutions. Those who in any way facilitate the financial transfers, logistics, or insurance associated with such petroleum shipments to Syria are at risk of being targeted by the United States for sanctions. The United States is committed to disrupting illicit financial and other support to the Government of Syria, to include transporting petroleum to its state-owned and state-operated ports, regardless of the location or nationality of those facilitating such support.
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