Shippingtelegrap: US sanctions captains over ship calls on Houthi-controlled ports

The Trump administration issued fresh sanctions on Friday targeting 21 individuals and entities and identifying one vessel that have allegedly transferred oil products, procured weapons and other so-called dual-use equipment that it said helped fund the Houthi group.

The action targets individuals and entities as well as one vessel, including some alleged front companies in Yemen, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said in a statement.

“The Houthis threaten the United States by committing acts of terror and attacking commercial vessels transiting the Red Sea,” said secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent.

Bessent added that the Treasury is taking action to “cut off” nearly two dozen individuals and entities involved in transferring oil, procuring weapons, and providing financial services for the group. “Treasury will use all tools at its disposal to expose the networks and individuals enabling Houthi terrorism.”

As explained by the Treasury, following the designation of the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) in March 2025, OFAC had issued a humanitarian general license to allow in-progress deliveries of petroleum products to ports in northern Yemen to be safely offloaded through April 4, 2025. 

However, even after this allowed period for wind-down activities, certain vessels continued delivering petroleum products to Houthi-controlled ports, OFAC said, providing significant economic support to the Houthis, in clear violation of restrictions on conducting business with an FTO.

One shipping company and its sole director facilitated the delivery of oil products to a Houthi-controlled port after the expiration of the general license. A vessel operated under this arrangement discharged oil products at the port in July 2025.

In addition, OFAC designated the captains of four previously sanctioned vessels that delivered petroleum products to Houthi-controlled ports. 

These vessels delivered liquefied petroleum gas or gasoline at a Houthi-controlled port between April and June 2025.

The move builds on previous Treasury action to pressure the Houthis “vast revenue generation and smuggling networks, which enable the group to sustain its capability to conduct destabilizing regional activities,” including the Red Sea attacks, the department added.