OFAC sanctions a third tanker captain in new move against Houthi enablers

Earlier this month, the U.S. Treasury designated the captains of two Houthi-linked tankers, both Indian nationals, in its moves against the Houthis. Now, Vyacheslav Salyga, a 53-year old Ukrainian national, has become the third tanker captain to be designated by OFAC sanctions targeting Houthi weapons procurement and funding networks.

Yesterday, OFAC (Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control) designated two individuals and five entities that have facilitated weapons procurement for Ansarallah (the Houthis). It also designated one individual (Salyga) and one company, as well as identifying one vessel, that have facilitated the shipment of commodities whose provides a funding stream that aids the Houthis in their weapons procurement.

The Houthis seem to have a never ending supply of munitions to unleash against merchant vessels and the new OFAC sanctions came on the same day that CENTCOM reported its latest efforts to destroy some of the weaponry the Houthis already have.

Something underscored by yesterday’s Treasury actions is that not all the Houthis’ weapons are provided directly by Iran, but are manufactured within Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.

“The Houthis’ continued, indiscriminate, and reckless attacks against unarmed commercial vessels are made possible by their access to key components necessary for the production of their missiles and UAVs,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson. “The United States remains resolved to use the full range of our tools to halt the flow of military-grade materials and funds from commodities sales that enable these destabilizing terrorist activities.”

Salyga has been designated for his role in the commodities sales part of that equation.

“The Cameroon-flagged Otaria, which is managed by UAE-based Stellar Wave Marine LLC and captained by Vyacheslav Salyga, loaded commodities associated with Houthi financier Sa’id al-Jamal in late May 2024 to be discharged in Singapore,” says OFAC. “The Otaria is currently carrying a cargo of commodities worth tens of millions of dollars.”

OFAC designated Sa’id al-Jamal on June 10, 2021, for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps—Qods Force (IRGC-QF).

Stellar Wave Marine and Salyga are being designated for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, Sa’id al-Jamal. The Otaria is being identified as property in which Stellar Wave Marine LLC has an interest.

The other actions taken by Treasury yesterday included targeting Ali Abd-al-Wahhab Muhammad al-Wazir (al-Wazir). He is described as “a PRC-based Houthi-affiliated individual who plays a key role in procuring materials that enable Houthi forces to manufacture advanced conventional weapons inside Yemen. He uses his PRC-based company, Guangzhou Tasneem Trading Company Limited (Guangzhou Tasneem), to obtain these items and ship them to Yemen. Guangzhou Tasneem is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Tasneem Trading Company Limited.”

• More on that, and on Houthi procurement efforts in Oman, in the full Treasury release HERE