News / US Treasury sanctions six vessels of struggling SeaLead

Photo: SeaLead

Singapore-based SeaLead has seen its ability to deploy capacity further hobbled by the US Treasury Department’s decision to sanction six more vessels over accusations that they are being used to support Tehran-linked interests.

As reported by The Loadstar in April, the US Department of Justice filed a lawsuit claiming SeaLead provided shipping services to interests controlled by Iranian official Ali Shamkhani and was seeking to seize some $2.4m related to the funding of an illicit Iranian oil network.

Treasury upped the ante by adding SeaLead – including its subsidiaries – and several of its vessels, all told offering some 10,500 teu, to its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions list over claims it has been shipping cargoes to support the Houthis.

While this latest intervention marks the first time that SeaLead and its vessels have been directly sanctioned by a US government entity, it comes at a time in which the operator has been struggling to keep things moving.

“As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of the designated or blocked persons described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of US persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC,” the Treasury said in a statement.

“In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, or 50% or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked.

“Unless authorized by OFAC, or exempt, OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons,” it added.

In July 2025, the DoJ forced SeaLead to redeliver 16 sanctioned vessels, with the operator having since been made to redeliver more chartered ships, causing its fleet size to plunge from 208,000 teu in May 2025 to less than 70,000 before this latest action was announced.

Responding to SeaLead’s misfortune, China United Lines (CU Lines) capitalised by taking over those vessels that had been returned early to Greek owner Danaos, including the 10,114 teu Express Berlin.