WASHINGTON — The United States imposed sanctions on Thursday on 29 vessels and their management firms as Washington targeted Tehran’s “shadow fleet,” which it says exports Iranian petroleum and petroleum products.

The targeted vessels and companies have transported hundreds of millions of dollars of the products through deceptive shipping practices, the US Treasury said.

The shadow fleet refers to ships that carry oil that is under sanctions. They are typically old, their ownership opaque, and they sail without the top-tier insurance cover needed to meet international standards for oil majors and many ports.

The US Treasury will “continue to deprive the regime of the petroleum revenue it uses to fund its military and weapons programs,” John Hurley, the department’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial........

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