In an increasingly complex geopolitical landscape, maritime companies face heightened compliance challenges. Recent sanctions activity has exposed critical vulnerabilities in ownership transparency that can have devastating financial and reputational consequences even for well-established financial institutions.
Chinese Lessors Caught in Iran Sanctions Crossfire
In August 2025, five containerships owned by major Chinese leasing companies were unexpectedly added to the US OFAC SDN list. The vessels – owned by Bocom Financial Leasing and CZB Financial Leasing – were sanctioned for connections to Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani’s network despite the lessors conducting standard KYC checks.
The critical compliance failure occurred because the vessels’ management company, Singapore-based Draco Buren Shipping, was sanctioned for being “one of the myriad shipping companies created to manage the Hossein network’s fleet.” The complex ownership structures effectively obscured the Iran connection.
Related Lloyd’s List article here
The Sprawling Shamkhani Network
The sanctions that caught these Chinese lessors in the crossfire were part of the largest US Iran-related enforcement action since 2018. In July 2025, the US Treasury Department issued 115 sanctions targeting a “vast shipping empire” controlled by Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, son of Ali Shamkhani – a top adviser to Iran’s supreme leader and former IRGC admiral.
The scale of this network demonstrates the sophisticated methods used to obscure beneficial ownership:
The Treasury Department noted that the network “exerts control over a significant portion of Iran’s crude oil exports” while deliberately making it “difficult to trace back to the Shamkhani family.”
Related Lloyd’s List article here
Hidden Beneficial Ownership: A Growing Industry Risk
Before acquisition by the Chinese lessors, the five sanctioned vessels were owned by Marshall Islands-registered companies with names that made identifying true controllers through public records impossible.
This incident has triggered fleet-wide risk reviews across China’s ship leasing sector, with companies now facing difficult decisions about managing affected lease contracts and limited recovery options since the vessels remain on the SDN list.
Protection Through Enhanced Ownership Intelligence
As sanctions enforcement grows more aggressive, maritime industry participants need more sophisticated tools to identify ownership-related compliance risks. Traditional due diligence relying on public records and basic KYC procedures is increasingly inadequate.
Lloyd’s List Intelligence’s Advanced Ownership Risk solution provides the enhanced visibility needed to:
Don’t Wait for a Sanctions Surprise
Recent industry events have shown that even organizations with sophisticated compliance systems can be caught unprepared when confronted with deliberately obscured ownership structures. As sanctions regimes grow more complex and enforcement more aggressive, traditional due diligence is no longer enough.
Protect your organization from unexpected sanctions exposure with advanced ownership intelligence that goes beyond surface-level information.
Designed for maritime professionals seeking enhanced visibility on opaque ownership structures, links to sanctioned entities, and cargo movements intelligence.
