U.S. to Permit Sale of Sanctioned LPG Carrier in Texas Linked to Iran

A shadowy, newly built LPG tanker that has been linked to efforts to fund Iran is potentially going to be sold under a new license issued today, May 20, by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. The vessel has been stranded in an anchorage off Houston, Texas, for the past 11 months and in April was officially sanctioned by the United States.

The vessel, the Tinos 1, has been a bit of a mystery, operating in the shadows of Iran and the efforts to raise money to support Iran’s military. It is a 93,000 cbm VLGC which was highlighted by its Chinese builders, Jiangnan Shipyard (a division of CSSC), as an advanced fourth-generation design. It is 230 meters (755 feet) in length with a service speed of 16.5 knots. The vessel was delivered on May 10, 2024, and it is reportedly owned by a division of CSSC on a lease-back agreement to an UAE-based company, Pearl Petrochemical FZE. It is registered in Panama.

According to the U.S. Treasury, the newly delivered vessel proceeded in the spring of 2024 to the United States on its first voyage and attempted in June 2024 to load LPG in Texas. The vessel was to take on the cargo in Houston, and the U.S. reports it was to be sold to China. Treasury did not provide details, but said the vessel failed to load the cargo.

OFAC in April 2025 moved to disrupt Iran’s gas trade and included Pearl Petrochemical FZE in its latest sanctions. It reported that the company was controlled but what it described as an “LPG magnate” who was operating a complex network of trades to raise money for Iran. According to the U.S. statement, Seyed Asadoollah Emamjomeh, his corporate network, and his son, Meisam Emamjomeh, have been responsible for shipping hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Iranian LPG and crude oil to foreign markets. All of them were listed along with the vessel.

OFAC’s new license provides for a number of transactions related to the vessel, including the sale of the ship, “provided the net proceeds of the sale be placed into a blocked interest-bearing account at a U.S. financial institution.” It is limiting the sale to the U.S. and the vessel’s entry into any new contracts with blocked persons.

As an alternative, OFAC is also making it possible for the safe docking and anchoring of the vessel, emergency repairs, and environmental mitigation or protection activities. They are also permitting actions for the health and safety of the crew and the provisioning of the vessel, bunkering, pilotage, towing, and similar services.

These sanctions were part of the Trump administration’s latest efforts, which were described as “maximum pressure” to stop the oil trade and funds reaching Iran. Trump has vowed to bring Iran’s oil sales to zero and to extend the sanctions to foreign parties involved in the trade.