News / SeaLead cuts back as Iran conflict and US charges hit operations

Photo: SeaLead

The US-Iran conflict has severely curtailed SeaLead Shipping’s operations.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz stranded the Singapore-based company’s ships on the Far East-Persian Gulf service, while the US Department of Justice is taking legal action against SeaLead, alleging the operator provided shipping services to interests controlled by Iranian official Ali Shamkhani.

Linerlytica’s report today discloses that SeaLead’s operated capacity has dwindled to 14 ships amounting to 62,521 teu, from a peak of 208,000 teu in May 2025.

SeaLead, which in February promoted Cho Kit Wei to CEO from COO, is understood to have closed some overseas offices and retrenched staff as the Middle East conflict hampers its core Persian Gulf services.

SeaLead also faces a US civil forfeiture of $2.4m, after the Department of Justice (DoJ) filed a lawsuit on 6 March claiming the company provided shipping services to Iranian interests.

US sanctions against Iran-linked vessels, announced last July, had already forced SeaLead to redeliver 16 sanctioned ships last year, and the operator has continued to redeliver more chartered ships in the last few months, causing its fleet size to plunge.

According to the DoJ lawsuit, the $2.4m is part of more than $15.3m allegedly used to fund an illicit Iranian oil distribution network. The DoJ claims the funds are subject to forfeiture because they afford a person a source of influence over the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the IRGC Quds Force (IRGC-QF) to violate US sanctions.

The DoJ alleges that Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani (Ali Shamkhani’s son) has operated a network of companies and individuals (the ‘Shamkhani Network’) engaged in selling and shipping Iranian oil and other commodities in violation of US sanctions, and obfuscating the source of the oil and role of Iranian persons and entities in the transactions. The funds in question were reportedly being used to operate multiple distribution companies in the Shamkhani Network.

The DoJ further alleged that $2.4m of the seized funds were intended for use by SeaLead and its Indian affiliate, Sea Lead Shipping Agency India. The department claimed Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani maintained organisational charts showing SeaLead’s place in the Shamkhani Network.

At the time of writing, SeaLead has not responded to The Loadstar’s request for comment. Its last press statement, on 2 March, only alluded to the disruption to its Persian Gulf services.

The company said then: “All transits through the Strait of Hormuz have been halted to ensure the safety of crew, vessels and cargo. We’re currently assessing contingency measures for all cargo on board the affected vessels, including the identification of potential alternative discharge ports, in full accordance with the applicable provisions of our bill of lading terms and conditions.”

Linerlytica notes that three of SeaLead’s operated ships have been chartered to MSC, as the latter continues to build its lead over its rivals. The ships, 2002-built 5,610 teu Suez Canal and a 2011-built 10,114 teu pair, Express Athens and Express Rome, are all owned by Danaos.

During the Covid-induced boom, MSC began expanding its fleet with newbuildings, second-hand ship purchases and chartered tonnage, and eventually overtook Maersk as the world’s largest liner operator in January 2022.