Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Company
Iranian insurer set up by Central Insurance; brokers Hormuz policies PGSA approves.
OFAC designated Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Company on 29 July 2026 under Executive Order 13902 for enforcing Iran's mandatory Hormuz insurance scheme, which forces transiting vessels to buy IRGC-approved cover.
Last refreshed: 3 August 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Why did the US sanction an Iranian marine insurer over the Strait of Hormuz?
Timeline for Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Company
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Iran Conflict 2026Background
Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Company sits inside Iran's parallel maritime-regulatory apparatus for the Strait of Hormuz, alongside the Persian Gulf Strait Authority, which approves the policies it brokers, and Iran's Central Insurance, its founding regulator. The scheme requires vessels transiting the strait to buy insurance cover through channels Iran itself controls, rather than through international war-risk markets such as Lloyd's of London.
That structure gives Tehran a domestic revenue and control mechanism over Hormuz shipping traffic that operates independently of, and in competition with, the international marine-insurance market, and it is this domestic-control function, not any single incident, that has made the company a recurring target of US sanctions actions against Iran's maritime enforcement network.
OFAC designated its Hormuz insurance role
Treasury designated Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Company on 29 July 2026 under Executive Order 13902, casting the mandatory Hormuz maritime-insurance scheme it operates as a coercive tax on global shipping that funds the IRGC. The company was established by Iran's Central Insurance, the country's primary insurance regulator, and brokers policies approved by the separately-designated Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA).
The designation is designed to cut the insurer off from the dollar-clearing system, meaning any bank or reinsurer still processing its business now carries secondary-sanctions exposure. Tehran, by contrast, presents the scheme as a legitimate safeguard for vessels transiting its waters, leaving the company caught between two entirely incompatible official characterisations of the same business.
What is Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Company?
Why did the US sanction Iran's Hormuz insurance scheme?
Who established Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Company?
When was Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Company sanctioned?
What does Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Company do?
Why did the US sanction Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Company?
