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GMS got permission to srap ship
The Dubai-based GMS, a buyer of ships and offshore vessels for recycling, has received the first U.S permit to buy vessels sanctioned over Iran trade. According to the licenses issued in April, four container ships will be scrapped, namely the 'Yogi' ('Yes'), 'Timon', 'Rantanplan' and 'Bigli'.The vessels were named in a Treasury Department notice in July 2025, which also announced “massive action” against the shadow fleet and entourage of Hossein Shamkhani, whose father was an adviser to Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. GMS has started the process to acquire the ships, but buyers in the next stage of the deal were cautious since the ships were under sanctions. The company has requested the OFAC to remove them from its blacklist. The licences could pave the way for more such ships to reach the end of their useful lives. The four ships were operated by United Arab Emirates-based Marvise SMC DMCC, which was managed by Shamkhani’s network, according to the Treasury Department. The owner of the vessels was separate from Marvise and not sanctioned. The container ships currently destined for the scrapyard sailed in the past under names such as ‘OOCL Kaohsiung’, but in their twilight years as charter vessels for SeaLead, they were given names of cartoon and comic book characters. For instance, 'Rantanplan' is the dim-witted little dog of cowboy Lucky Luke, and 'Timon' is the arrogant meerkat from The Lion King. Two years ago, the 'Pinocchio' made headlines when it was fired upon by the Houthis in the Red Sea, butit was also among the vessels that have since been sanctioned and has been idle since summer 2025, along with ships like the 'Hakuna Matata' and the 'Bertie'. It was therefore expected that the US would approve the scrapping of even more shadow fleet vessels.
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