Industry service Linerlytica has identified Vuxx Shipping, a China-based and Russia-focused operator, as the charterer of six of the 22 container ships sanctioned by the US Treasury Department for links to the Iranian Shamkhani family.
According to the Linerlytica report, Hong Kong-based Vuxx had chartered the feeder vessels “Aeolus”, “Cerus”, “Dhanu”, “Gauja”, “Rob” and “TB Anping”. The vessels serve Vuxx’s feeder routes between South America and Russia, as well as between the Mediterranean and the Baltic Sea.
Vuxx continues to operate the vessels, but Singapore-based SeaLead Shipping has terminated the charter contracts for the other 16 sanctioned vessels. Linerlytica identified them as “Ace”, “Ale”, “Bertie”, “Bigli”, “Hakuna Matata”, “Lidia”, “Moana”, “Pinocchio”, “Pumba”, “Rantanplan”, “Simba”, “Star”, “Tex”, “Timon”, “Yogi” and “Zagor”. The vessels chartered by SeaLead ranged from feeder to post-Panamax vessels have been deployed on routes in the Red Sea.
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) announced on July 30 that the vessels were inspected by Iranian official Hossein Shamkhani. The vessels are blocked from the U.S. ports, and U.S. citizens are prohibited from trading with these vessels.
SeaLead acted quickly, ending its charters just one day after sanctions were announced. Vuxx, however, remains unaffected, as its operations are centered on Russian trade lanes. Vuxx launched a new China-Baltic service on August 2, connecting Shanghai, Ningbo, Nansha, Damiette, Kaliningrad, St. Petersburg, Damiette and Shanghai. The route will be operational in 12 weeks and will deploy up to six vessels of 1,500 to 2,500 TEU.
Vuxx previously acted as agent for Reel Shipping, which launched a China-Russia service in 2022. Following Reel Shipping’s withdrawal from the market, Vuxx took over its client base in August 2024.
