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The U.S. Treasury has sanctioned two Iranian maritime companies that it says helped the government collect cryptocurrency and other payments from commercial vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz.
The July 29 action targets Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Company and HormuzSafe Marine Services Authority. Treasury alleges both helped Iran turn mandatory maritime insurance into a revenue source linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
HormuzSafe Accepted Bitcoin for Maritime Insurance
HormuzSafe emerged this year as a platform offering insurance and financial responsibility certificates to vessels using the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian reports described the service as accepting cryptocurrency, including Bitcoin, for policy payments.
Treasury said the arrangement allowed Iran to collect digital assets and other revenue from ships seeking passage through the waterway. U.S. authorities view those payments as part of a wider effort to monetize Iranian control over one of the world’s most important energy shipping routes.
U.S. Warning Covers Digital Assets, Swaps, and Fiat Payments
The U.S. had already warned shipping companies that paying Iran for safe passage could breach sanctions. That warning applied whether payment involved fiat currency, digital assets, swaps, or other compensation.
The guidance makes the sanctions risk broader than conventional bank transfers. Shipping companies can face exposure if they use services tied to sanctioned Iranian maritime payment systems, even when payment routes do not involve U.S. banks directly.
OFAC Sanctions Eight Tankers and Eight Additional Companies
The Office of Foreign Assets Control also sanctioned eight tankers and eight additional companies as part of the July 29 action. Six of the targeted companies are based in China.
The vessels are linked to Iran’s shadow fleet, which Treasury says has continued transporting Iranian petroleum despite U.S. restrictions. OFAC has sanctioned more than 100 Iran-linked vessels since the start of 2026.
Blocked-Property Rules Raise Sanctions Risk for Shipping Firms
Property belonging to newly designated entities that fall under U.S. jurisdiction must now be blocked. U.S. persons are generally prohibited from conducting transactions involving sanctioned entities unless specifically authorized.
U.S. persons are mostly restricted, and this also creates secondary-sanctions risk for non-U.S. firms that provide material support or conduct certain transactions with designated parties. That raises the compliance risk for shipping companies, insurers, brokers, and intermediaries involved in Hormuz-related services.
June Crypto Exchange Sanctions Preceded Hormuz Action
The action extends Washington’s scrutiny of Iran’s use of digital assets outside conventional banking channels. Treasury sanctioned four Iranian crypto exchanges in June and has separately targeted wallets and financial networks accused of moving funds for the government and IRGC.
Bitcoin transactions are public, but tracing depends on linking wallet addresses to sanctioned entities, intermediaries, or services. HormuzSafe and Persian Gulf Marine Insurance now join the previously sanctioned Persian Gulf Strait Authority in the U.S. campaign against Iran’s maritime payment system.
Shipping companies using the services face increased sanctions exposure regardless of whether payments are made through banks, digital assets, swaps or other compensation.
