US Treasury adds Shipmanager Aurum to sanctions list for financing Houthi activities

The U.S. Treasury Department has blacklisted 18 individuals, companies, and vessels for alleged ties to the Saeed al-Jamal Shipping Network, an Iran-backed oil smuggling organization that funds the Houthi terrorist group in Yemen. This is the latest in a long line of actions against the clandestine trade network.

Al-Jamal is a Yemeni national who runs a network of companies and vessels that smuggle petroleum products and other sanctioned goods to buyers in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. He works with sanctioned Turkish trader Abdi Nasser Ali Mahmoud, whose business entities served as fronts for al-Jamal’s activities, according to the Treasury Department . Other members of the network include UAE-based traders Abdu Abdullah Dael Ahmed and Konstantinos Stavridis, along with their trading companies, according to the Treasury Department; Abdu Abdullah and Stavridis were both added to the U.S. blacklist on Thursday.

“Despite calls for negotiations to end this devastating conflict, Houthi leaders continue to launch missiles and drone attacks against Yemen’s neighbors, killing innocent civilians,” said Brian Nelson, the Treasury Department’s counterterrorism official. “I call on Houthi leaders to cease their violent campaign and negotiate in good faith to end the conflict.”

Treasury also sanctioned UAE-based ship operator Aurum Ship Management, which allegedly made millions of dollars in profits by managing vessels linked to the El Gamal and Mahmoud. These vessels include the Cameroon-flagged Victoria 1, the Light Moon and Three, and the previously sanctioned Triple Success.

According to the American website, the maritime executive, it appears that the Treasury Department made a mistake in determining the current flag state name of the Victoria 1 ship. The name and state were changed two years ago, according to the Equasis record of the ship’s number at the International Maritime Organization (9109550).

According to the US Treasury, Aurum employees also “bribed flagging authorities to ignore sanctions-evading activities by vessels in the camel network.” The Treasury did not specify which flagging authorities were responsible; Aurum’s fleet operates under a variety of open registry flags, most notably Gabon.

In addition, Orom allegedly operates ships that transport oil directly to Houthi-controlled ports in Yemen – and not just to customers abroad.

The Treasury Department also blacklisted Aurum’s managing director, Chiranjeev Kumar Singh, and its associated company, Peridot Shipping and Trading.

Aurum has been involved in several ship incidents. It managed the VLCC Zoya 1, which caught fire in 2020 and was declared a total loss. It also managed the bitumen tanker Reem 5, which took on water and sank off the coast of India in January 2020. The company was previously responsible for the bitumen tanker Aashi, which ran aground in 2023.