The US is shifting its focus from tankers to the companies that service these vessels in order to prevent Iranian oil from reaching world markets by circumventing sanctions. According to the New York Times, the Trump administration is targeting companies that provide services to Iranian tankers, particularly in Malaysia and Singapore. These services include:
- fuel
- repairs
- food
- ship-to-ship oil transfers
One of the key hubs of the Iranian oil trade is the Eastern Outer Port Limits (EOPL) area, approximately 72 kilometers off Malaysia’s Johor state. Here, tankers transfer oil to other vessels; nearly all of the crude oil is shipped to small refineries in China.
Because Malaysia does not recognize Washington’s sanctions as legitimate, working with Iranian vessels is not illegal in the country. The US Treasury Department announced sanctions in August targeting companies and financial intermediaries that service tankers. However, according to analyst Dalga Khatinoglu, the efforts have not made a significant difference in the oil trade. Jeffrey Soh, an executive at Contemporary Logistics, says that even if EOPL is blocked, tankers could turn to the waters of Penang, Malacca, and Indonesia.
Background
The US is not a new name in the FikirPilot archive: we have published 46 articles mentioning this name in the last 90 days; the most recent is dated October 7, 2026.