The US Treasury sanctioned the Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Company and HormuzSafe Marine Services Authority on July 29 over a scheme that allegedly forces commercial vessels to buy maritime insurance to transit the Strait of Hormuz. Both firms are accused of operating under the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the policies are structured to take payment in digital assets. OFAC also designated eight shipping companies for their ties to Iran's petroleum industry.
The US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned two firms on July 29 that allegedly run a scheme requiring commercial vessels to buy mandatory maritime insurance just to navigate the Strait of Hormuz. Both the Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Company and HormuzSafe Marine Services Authority are accused of operating under the umbrella of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Those policies reportedly cover risks that Iran itself generates, including vessel seizures and harassment by IRGC naval forces. They are structured to facilitate payments in digital assets, giving Iranian entities a way to collect revenue while sidestepping traditional banking channels where US sanctions have the most bite.
Eight shipping firms designated alongside the insurers
The designations were made under Executive Order 13902, which targets Iran's financial sector. OFAC also sanctioned eight shipping companies based in China, Hong Kong, and the Marshall Islands for their ties to Iran's petroleum industry.
Hormuz is one of the most strategically important waterways on Earth. Roughly a fifth of the world's oil passes through it daily, and Iran sits on its northern shore.
A scheme that predates the designations
Reports surfaced as early as May 2026 about Iran's Bitcoin-settled insurance initiative for Hormuz transit, suggesting the HormuzSafe platform was part of a broader effort to build a digital financial ecosystem that operates outside Western control.
That structure makes enforcement harder than flagging suspicious wallet addresses. What regulators see on the surface is a commercial transaction between a shipping company and an insurance provider, with the complication that the insurer is an arm of the IRGC and the payment rails run through crypto.
Immediate market impact appears limited
The immediate market impact appears limited, and Bitcoin and major digital assets haven't shown significant movement tied specifically to this action.
But the connection between Iran's shadow fleet and companies in China, Hong Kong, and the Marshall Islands highlights how sanctions enforcement in crypto is becoming a geopolitical exercise, requiring coordination across jurisdictions with very different attitudes toward both crypto regulation and Iran.
Source: Crypto Briefing
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