Tankers Sanctioned by U.S. are Part of a False Flag Operation Says Guyana

The Maritime Administration Department of the South American country of Guyana declared that five tankers recently sanctioned by the United States are “false and fraudulent registrations.” The government reports it is aware of the operation saying the perpetrators are targeting several countries and that it has alerted maritime authorities.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned on November 14, 26 companies, individuals, and vessels that it said were associated with a Syrian company responsible for generating hundreds of millions of dollars for Iran through the sale of oil to Syria and China. Among the 13 tankers listed were five that were identified as registered in Guyana.

“These ships are not registered in Guyana,” the Maritime Administration Department declared in a statement dated December 26. “They are false and fraudulent registrations,” they reported.

The authorities in Guyana highlighted that the country operates a closed registry. They state that the registry is limited to ships owned by Guyanese nationals, residents, citizens of the Caribbean Community states, and corporations established under the laws of Guyana. They reported none of the five tankers that claimed to be under the flag of Guyana falls into any of those categories. 

The U.S. stated that the vessels were controlled by the Syria-based Al-Qatirji Company, which was arranging for the export of millions of barrels of Iranian oil. They said the oil was traced to Syria and East Asia, including China, and the proceeds were being used to finance Iran and the Houthis. The U.S. called the company one of the main financial channels for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force. They said the company was also involved in money laundering through major cities such as Istanbul and Beirut.

Four aging crude oil tankers were listed as under the flag of Guyana as well as a product tanker. One crude oil tanker, Ramona I (164,445 dwt) built in 2002, was reported to be owned by a company registered in Panama. Another of the tankers, Mia (149,686 dwt) built in 1993, was listed as owned and operated by a company based in the Seychelles. The third crude oil tanker Lia (146,273 dwt) built in 1996 was traced to a company in the Marshall Islands. The ownership of the last crude oil tanker, Chloe (159,539 dwt) built in 1999 was not identified.

The product tanker was the most mysterious of the group with the U.S. identifying it as Baron (46,166 dwt) built in 1995 and managed by a company in Lebanon. Databases such as Equasis list the vessel as Daran and report it is registered in Iran. Equasis flags the four crude oil tankers as all displaying a false flag.

The officials in Guyana reported that they have been aware of incidents of false registrations since 2021. It is not the first time they have warned of fraudulent registrations. In May 2024, the authorities blamed an unauthorized group for placing ships in the registry without proper authorization.

“The perpetrators of this fraud have targeted several countries including Guyana, Panama, and regional states,” the Maritime Administration Department reports. They said they are sharing details about these false registrations with relevant regional and international maritime associations.

The government of Guyana asserts that there is no effort to operate or have a separate ship registry. They asserted the country does not offer a flag of convenience and that it continues to take steps to protect the sovereignty and integrity of Guyana.