Indian-owned tanker 'Benedict' among 14 Iran-linked shadow fleet ships hit with new US oil sanctions

The US State Department on Friday slapped 14 shadow fleet oil tankers—and the companies that manage them—with fresh sanctions, just after a round of nuclear talks between the US and Iran in Oman.

The shadow fleet oil tanker Benedict (IMO: 9293155), owned by Elevate Marine Management Private Limited (an Indian-origin firm), has returned to the spotlight as it is among the 14 vessels blacklisted by the US. Akash Anant Shinde, an Indian national identified as the director of the maritime firm, has also been sanctioned by association with it.

According to the State Department, the Cameroon-flagged crude oil tanker had transported Iranian petroleum products at least three times between September and November 2025.

Shinde and Elevate Marine Management have been sanctioned under Executive Order (EO) 13846, it said. He was also added to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List under the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

Notably, this is not the first time that the Benedict has been sanctioned. The vessel has allegedly been involved in shadow fleet activities such as moving Russian oil since January 2024, as per an Ukrainian government portal tracking sanctioned ships.

AIS data currently shows the tanker anchored at Malaysia's Port Klang after completing a journey from the Hudaidah Port in Yemen. 

Yet, THE WEEK could not immediately verify this AIS data, as the portal points out that the vessel has a history of switching off its AIS transponders to essentially go dark—a key trait of dark fleet/shadow fleet ships.

The portal also said that the Benedict, which is more than two decades old, has flown a number of flags in the past, such as those from Liberia, the Marshall Islands, Gambia, and Panama. The tanker has also gone by various names, such as Asian Jade, KWK Jade, Davis Sea, Wonder Vega, and Junia, before getting its current name, Benedict.

15 other entities that have "traded in Iranian-origin crude oil, petroleum products, or petrochemical products"—as well as two individuals associated with these activities—have also been sanctioned.

"These targets have generated revenue that the regime uses to conduct its malign activities," declared Thomas Pigott, Principal Deputy Spokesperson for the US State Department, in a statement.

The US sanctions also come amid escalating naval tensions between the two nations, with Tehran using the naval forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to seize vessels accused of smuggling fuel and Washington maintaining a carrier strike group in the Middle East.

"So long as Iranian regime attempts to evade sanctions and generate oil and petrochemical revenues to fund such oppressive behaviour and support terrorist activities and proxies, the United States will act to hold both the Iranian regime and its partners accountable," Pigott added.