The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned a network of companies that are alleged to be selling fraudulent flags to the Iranian regime’s shadow fleet. The action forms part of Operation Economic Outcast, which is the Trump Administration’s campaign to cut off revenue to the regime in Iran. A statement issued by OFAC notes that for over 10 years, India-based Suniel Kumar Sharma and his wife, Jaspreet Preeti Shahid, have set up companies that pose as the flag registries and maritime service providers of countries and jurisdictions such as Guyana, Eswatini, Aruba, Mali, Mozambique, Malawi, […]

Climate NGOs have informed ship.energy that they believe the Democratic victory in the US midterm elections yesterday (3 November) could have ‘important indirect implications for the US stance and behaviour at the International Maritime Organization (IMO)’. At the time of writing some of the seats up for election had still to be declared, but it was already clear that the Democrats have taken control of the Senate (with at least 54 seats) and the House of Representatives (with at least 228 seats). The US has been one of the leading opponents of the IMO Net-Zero Framework (NZF) in its current […]

The UK Chamber of Shipping has published a new policy paper which sets out key lessons from the implementation of FuelEU Maritime. Drawing on industry experience since FuelEU Maritime came into force in January 2025, the UK Chamber of Shipping says the paper, Designing a Workable UK Maritime Fuel Standard: Lessons from the implementation of FuelEU Maritime, offers practical recommendations to inform the Department for Transport’s development of a domestic maritime fuel standard, as proposed in the Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy. ‘The UK Chamber supports the objective of accelerating maritime decarbonisation but warns that successful regulation depends not only on ambition, […]