Iranian Arms Ship Makes Northbound Transit Through the Suez Canal

A sanctioned Iranian cargo vessel, which in the past is likely to have been involved with shipping arms to Syria, has just completed a northerly passage up the Red Sea.

The Iranian-owned cargo vessel Elyana (IMO: 9165827) was located on May 3, underway and entering the southern end of the Suez Canal. As of the end of the day on Saturday, the AIS signal shows it has completed the Suez Canal transit.

The 15,670 GT vessel set off from the Bandar Abbas commercial port on April 18, making a port call in Jebel Ali, and departed on April 21. The vessel is not known to have made any port call en route and hence has taken much longer to complete the Jebel Ali to Suez leg of its voyage than would a normal commercial vessel.

The Elyana is listed by name and is subject to secondary sanctions by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). It is linked to the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), which is sanctioned as an entity.

Equipped with deck davit cranes, the Elyana would be capable of off-loading cargo at unsophisticated ports en route, potentially being able to do so in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen without using the closely monitored (and recently demolished) ports of Hodeida and Ras Isa.

In June 2024, the Elyana unloaded cargo in Latakia, in Syria, which had been taken on in Bandar Abbas. While closely aligned with the doomed Assad regime in Syria, the IRGC are known to have used Latakia as a hub for their arms imports destined for Hezbollah and the Syrian regime, using shipping to the port of Latakia and flying Boeing 747 cargo aircraft directly into Latakia International Airport. In October 2024, Israeli aircraft targeted a number of Iranian-controlled arms dumps in the area, hitting one warehouse on the Russian-controlled Hmeimim airbase, a substantial ammunition depot in the adjacent port of Jableh, and also the cargo area of Latakia International Airport.

Once it leaves the Suez Canal, the final destination of the Elyana is not known, albeit the vessel is currently proceeding northwards at 9.5 knots with its Automatic Identification System switched on. It is declaring a destination of Benghazi, Libya

On April 30, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned Iran on his personal X account, posting that “We see your LETHAL support to The Houthis. We know exactly what you are doing,” and warning Iran it will face consequences for its continuing support.