US Sanctions Iranian Marine Insurers Taking Bitcoin for Strait of Hormuz Passage

The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned two Iranian firms on Wednesday — HormuzSafe Marine Services Authority and the Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Company — that it says force commercial vessels to buy mandatory "insurance" to transit the Strait of Hormuz, with HormuzSafe accepting Bitcoin and other digital assets to sidestep sanctions.

The designations, announced in a press release, target what Treasury describes as an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-backed scheme in which the coverage protects vessels against risks — such as seizures — that Iran itself creates. Both firms were designated under Executive Order 13902, which targets Iran's financial, petroleum and petrochemical sectors.

"With its economy in freefall and inflation in the triple digits, the regime is desperate for cash," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in the release. "The United States will not allow Iran to hold global commerce hostage or use international shipping to finance the IRGC's terrorism, aggression, and repression."

Bitcoin for Passage

HormuzSafe, which Treasury says was developed by Iran's Ministry of Economy, advertises itself as a digital insurance firm offering maritime services — insurance, traffic control, security and emergency response — to vessels transiting the strait. It "accepts payment in Bitcoin and other digital assets as part of the regime's attempts to bypass Western sanctions," the agency said, and generates revenue on behalf of the IRGC.

Babak Morteza Zanjani, the Iranian financier sanctioned earlier this year, promoted HormuzSafe to his social media followers, according to Treasury.

The Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Company was established by the Central Insurance of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the country's insurance regulator, and brokers policies approved by the Persian Gulf Strait Authority — an IRGC-backed body OFAC designated on May 27 for supporting the Guard Corps.

The action extends a pattern of Iranian state-linked entities turning to crypto rails as conventional banking channels close. All property of the designated firms within U.S. jurisdiction is blocked, and non-U.S. persons risk secondary sanctions for dealing with them.

Shadow Fleet Sweep

In the same action, OFAC sanctioned eight shipping companies based in China, Hong Kong and the Marshall Islands, and identified eight tankers as blocked property, for moving millions of barrels of Iranian crude and petroleum products, mostly to China. Treasury said it has sanctioned more than 100 vessels tied to Iran's shadow fleet since the start of the year.

The release ties the insurance scheme to revenue streams "decimated by Operation Epic Fury," and to National Security Presidential Memorandum 2, the administration's maximum-pressure directive on Iran.