The United States has granted a licence to the world’s largest cash buyer of ships to purchase four sanctioned containerships for scrapping, in a decision that could open a legitimate exit route for owners trapped in the shadow fleet.

OFAC approved Dubai-headquartered GMS to buy the Yogi, Timon, Rantanplan and Bigli – four vessels linked to Iranian shipping magnate Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani and sanctioned by the US last year as part of a network of more than 50 ships.

The four ships are among 22 containerships sanctioned by OFAC in July 2025 due to links to Iran, which have been idle since being off-hired by SeaLead in August last year. According to Linerlytica, the vessels – ranging from 5,800 to 6,900 teu and built between 2005 and 2009, owned by BoCom Leasing – will be the largest containerships scrapped since 2020. Without the sanctions, Linerlytica estimates the ships would have been valued at more than 400% of their scrap value.

OFAC said it has agreed to consider applications for specific ships on a case-by-case basis.

Containership scrapping has been at a near-standstill in 2026. Only four ships totalling 4,456 teu have been recycled in the first five months of the year according to Linerlytica, as elevated charter rates and secondhand prices have made disposal commercially unattractive. Two further sanctioned vessels – a 4,800 teu and a 6,600 teu ship owned by China’s CZB Financial Leasing – remain stranded in China under similar sanction circumstances.

Clarksons Research counts 1,836 vessels under sanctions globally today, including 55 containerships.