US sanctions two Greeks for refueling Iranian ships

“Alberto” Tsoris and Georgios “George” Tsoris are accused of supplying oil to sanctioned Iranian shipping networks, at least from 2023.

According to the US Treasury Department, the two men, who appear as sales managers of the global bunkering network Shipoil, supplied fuel to tankers transporting crude oil and petroleum products.

Their names are included in the new sanctions list announced on Monday, August 24, by the Trump administration, as part of the intensifying economic pressure on Iran.

The measures target Shipoil units based in Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates, but not the Piraeus-based company.

Washington alleges that the two men worked with Iranian groups, including the network of shipping magnate Hossein Shamkhani, as well as Triliance, which has links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

What the U.S. Treasury Department’s statement says

Since at least 2023, Hong Kong-based Shipoil Limited and its Dubai-based affiliates, Shipoil FZCO and Ship Fuels and Trade DMCC, operated by Greek nationals Almpertos “Alberto” Tsoris and Georgios “George” Tsoris, coordinated with sanctioned Iranian entities, including Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Commercial Company (PGPICC), Triliance Petrochemical Co. Ltd., NITC, and the network of Iranian oil shipping magnate Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani (Shamkhani), to provide bunkering services to vessels carrying Iranian crude oil and other petroleum products.

For example, in 2026, Alberto Tsoris, 41, coordinated, through Shipoil FZCO and Ship Fuels and Trade DMCC, with NITC and the Shamkhani network, the provision of bunkering services to the 2005-built, sanctioned tanker MEDNA (IMO: 9281683), formerly known as ANTHEA and SIRI. The vessel has transported crude oil for the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces.

Similarly, George Tsoris, 43, used Shipoil FZCO and Ship Fuels and Trade DMCC to provide bunkering services to vessels affiliated with various subsidiaries and front companies of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL).

In 2026, United Arab Emirates-based Unique Oasis Shipping Services LLC and Target Horizon Shipping LLC collaborated with Shipoil Limited and Ship Fuels and Trade DMCC to provide bunkering services worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to a vessel associated with IRISL.

In mid-2026, George Tsoris provided bunkering services to the sanctioned IRISL tanker BEHTA (built 2009), in coordination with IRISL’s UAE-based subsidiary Good Luck Shipping LLC and Unique Oasis Shipping Services LLC.

Almpertos Tsoris was sanctioned for what the US said was “activities in the Iranian oil sector,” while Georgios Tsoris was sanctioned for his support of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL).

Shipoil was founded in 1977 under the name Intershipoil, under Christos Tsoris. In 1982, it was renamed Shipoil, while operating in the Greek market and in the ports of the Mediterranean. Utilizing its experience as well as its strong contracts with refineries and fuel suppliers, it has evolved into an international fuel and lubricants trading house. StudyGeographical Maps

“Our mission now is to continue to be one of the leading international companies in the trading and supply of marine fuels, providing our customers with high-level services,” the company states on its website.