Guyana
South American nation whose flag registry is used by some sanctioned tankers.
The US Treasury said on 4 November 2026 that a Chandigarh-based network ran a fake Guyanese flag agency for tankers in Iran's shadow fleet. US forces had seized one falsely Guyana-flagged tanker, Majestic X, on 22 April.
Last refreshed: 8 November 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
How many 'Guyana-flagged' tankers carrying Iranian oil are flying a forged flag?
Timeline for Guyana
Mentioned in: US hits alleged Indian false-flag ring
Iran Conflict 2026Mentioned in: The dark fleet fakes an anchored ship
Iran Conflict 2026Background
Guyana is a South American country on The Atlantic coast, bordered by Venezuela, Suriname and Brazil, with Georgetown as its capital. Merchant ships sail under its flag, among them tankers that the United States has placed under sanctions.
Guyana-flagged tankers have worked the Iran oil trade. In mid-2026 an OFAC-sanctioned supertanker flying the Guyanese flag loaded about 1.87 million barrels of Iranian crude at Kharg Island.
Some of those registrations were forged, according to Washington. In November 2026 Treasury alleged that an outfit calling itself the International Maritime Safety Agency of Guyana, run from Chandigarh, sold the country's flag without authority, and that US forces had seized one such falsely flagged tanker in April.
Guyana's flag keeps fronting Iranian oil
Guyana's flag has turned up again and again on tankers moving Iranian crude. Between 23 June and 4 July 2026 a Guyana-flagged tanker under US sanctions loaded an assessed 1.87 million barrels at Kharg Island. It broadcast a faked anchor-swing track to look anchored, a spoof Windward had not documented before.
On 4 November the US Treasury alleged that much of this flagging was fraudulent. It said a Chandigarh-based network's International Maritime Safety Agency of Guyana posed as a flagging agency for the country. Treasury sanctioned four people and ten companies, eight of them in India, but named no vessels, so tankers flying the false registration were not themselves listed.
Why are Iranian oil tankers flagged in Guyana?
What was the MAJESTIC X?
Did a Guyana-flagged tanker load oil at Kharg Island?
Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Updated 8 November 2026. Editorial standards.