Operation Economic Outcast: US sanctions 2 Mumbai-based shipping firms in Iran shadow fleet crackdown

Falsified shipping documents, illicit trade networks, and dark-fleet maneuvers stretching directly into South Asia have run up against a hard wall of US enforcement.

In a coordinated action under President Donald Trump’s Operation Economic Outcast, the US Department of the Treasury and the US Department of State announced major sanctions targeting the international infrastructure — with specific actions hitting India-based trading companies, customs brokers, and corporate directors — accused of smuggling Iranian petrochemicals and petroleum products.

Officials emphasised that these networks have funneled millions of dollars to Tehran, enabling the Iranian regime to sustain its destabilising activities.

India-focused action  

The new multi-agency actions single out several India-based entities and their principal executives for knowingly engaging in significant transactions involving Iranian-origin petrochemical products:

• SSPL Solutions Private Limited: An India-based petrochemical trading company that imported $2 million in Iranian-origin petrochemical products between February 2025 and July 2025.  
• Corporate Leadership Blocked: Dhwani Nisarg Vora and Nisarg Samir Vora, both Indian nationals and directors of SSPL Solutions Private Limited, have been blocked under Executive Order 13846.  
• Samudra Marine Services Private Limited: An India-based customs broker that facilitated the import of multiple shipments of Iranian-origin petrochemical products into India.  
• Customs Directors Targeted: Ketan Manohar Kochikar, Bhupendrasingh Dhalsingh Sahu, and Harishyam Hariharan Chundakattil — all Indian nationals and directors of Samudra Marine Services — have been explicitly designated and blocked as principal executive officers.  

Broader crackdown on Iran's shadow fleet  

These India-focused designations form part of a wider dual-agency sweep that ropes in dozens of international front companies, vessel management providers, and shadow fleet tankers across multiple jurisdictions — including Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates, and China — to choke off Tehran’s remaining financial lifelines.

The US government warned that any entities or financial institutions continuing to facilitate trade, logistics, or sanctions evasion on behalf of the Iranian regime risk severe penalties, including secondary sanctions that cut them off from the US financial system.