COSCO-affiliated tankers are among the principal carriers of Iranian crude to Chinese buyers, estimated at 1-1.4 million Barrels Per Day. The US has repeatedly sanctioned intermediary companies in COSCO's logistics chain rather than COSCO directly.Source: OFAC; analyst estimates

What is COSCO Shipping Corporation?

COSCO is the world's largest state-owned shipping conglomerate, headquartered in Shanghai. It was formed in 2016 from the merger of China Ocean Shipping Company and China Shipping Group, operating over 1,300 vessels globally.

How does Iran sell oil to China if it is sanctioned?

Sanctioned Iranian crude reaches China via a network of Shell companies in Hong Kong, the UAE, and Oman that serve as intermediaries, moving cargoes through COSCO-affiliated and other tanker operators. OFAC designated twelve of these individuals and entities on 15 May 2026.Source: OFAC

Background

China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited is the world's largest state-owned container shipping and bulk carrier conglomerate, headquartered in Shanghai and formed in 2016 through the merger of China Ocean Shipping Company and China Shipping Group. It operates a fleet of over 1,300 vessels across container, bulk, tanker, and logistics segments, with annual revenues exceeding $50 billion. As a state-owned enterprise under direct oversight of China's State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, COSCO's strategic decisions align with Beijing's commercial and geopolitical interests.

COSCO and its affiliated entities have been implicated in multiple US sanctions enforcement actions for transporting Iranian crude oil in violation of the Iran sanctions regime. The 15 May 2026 OFAC designation round targeting IRGC oil-routing networks (E.O. 13224) named individuals using Shell companies in Hong Kong, the UAE, and Oman as routing nodes, a logistics pattern that COSCO's broader network — particularly smaller affiliated tanker subsidiaries — has been associated with in prior enforcement actions.

For Iran, COSCO and its affiliates represent the most significant single commercial channel for circumventing Western oil sanctions. China's refusal to enforce US secondary sanctions means COSCO-affiliated vessels routinely load Iranian crude at Kharg Island and Bandar Abbas. The volume is estimated by analysts at 1-1.4 million Barrels Per Day, making Chinese buyers, typically routing through COSCO-affiliated tankers, the principal revenue source sustaining Iran's wartime economy.

Source Material

OFAC SDN List China COSCO Shipping Corporation — Official Website

How the World Sees Them

Iran

COSCO affiliates are the primary buyer of sanctioned Iranian crude; the relationship is existential for wartime oil revenue at an estimated 1-1.4 million barrels per day.

China

Beijing regards COSCO's Iran trade as a sovereign commercial relationship not subject to US extraterritorial jurisdiction; COSCO purchases are denominated in yuan.

United States

COSCO's state-owned status makes secondary sanctions enforcement politically fraught; the May 2026 OFAC round targeted individual intermediaries rather than COSCO itself to avoid a direct collision with Beijing.

European Union

EU sanctions on Iranian crude predate the conflict; COSCO's non-compliance with Western enforcement norms is a persistent friction point in EU-China trade talks.