Sanctions Watch: Meru (spotted at chokepoint)

Important: This summary was automatically generated by AI from a public-domain government source. It is provided for general information and SEO indexing only. It is not legal, compliance, or professional advice and may contain errors, omissions, or out-of-date information. Where IMO numbers appear in the summary, they may be hyperlinked to the corresponding entry in our sanctioned-vessels database for convenience — these links are direct citations, not editorial assertions. Always verify against the official source before making any compliance, commercial, or legal decision. Read our news policy.

Key facts

Source: Strait Up Maritime Vessel Watch (UK HM Treasury, Open Government Licence v3.0)
Original publication date: Tuesday, August 11, 2026
Vessel IMO numbers cited: 1
Companies / entities cited: 1+
Original announcement: Strait Up Maritime Vessel Watch press page

Mentioned 1 vessel IMO in this article — screen any vessel against 50+ sanctions lists in seconds.

Screen Free →

The crude oil tanker Meru most recently transited the Suez chokepoint on August 8, 2026, at 23:41 UTC. The vessel, which operates under the flag of Sierra Leone, is identified by IMO number 9187227.

The Meru is subject to sanctions under the Swiss SECO Ordinance of 4 March 2022 on measures related to the situation in Ukraine (RS 946.231.176.72), specifically annexes 2, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 14a, 15, 15a, 15b, 25, and 33. The vessel was first designated on April 1, 2026.

According to observations by Strait Up Maritime from open AIS broadcasts and IMO-anchored vessel records, the vessel has completed several recent transits through the Suez and ports EGPSD and EGSUZ. Between August 4 and August 10, 2026, the vessel recorded ten chokepoint-related events, including multiple movements through the Suez and the ports of EGPSD and EGSUZ.

Compliance signals include several vessel changes recorded on June 16, 2026. These include changes to the vessel's flag from Norway (NIS), Comoros, and Comoros FALSE to Germany and Gambia. Additionally, multiple changes to ship managers and ISM managers were recorded on this date, involving entities such as AVIN INTERNATIONAL LTD, JASPERO SHIPPING CORP, COLUMBIA SHIPMANAGEMENT-GEU, HARMONY GROVE CORP, VAELAGI PINNACLE LTD, BLUE SEA NAVIGATION LTD, and DREAM ISLAND SHIPPING LLC.

Source: vessel record from public sanctions lists published by the issuing government authorities cited above; transit and change observations by Strait Up Maritime from open AIS broadcasts. Verify the listing against the issuing authority's official notice before relying on it for compliance.

Source: Strait Up Maritime sanctions data (live)
This is an original article generated by Strait Up Maritime from publicly available sanctions list data. Underlying designations are published by: U.S. Treasury OFAC (SDN list, public domain), UK OFSI (consolidated list, Open Government Licence v3.0), European Council (CFSP regulations, EU re-use policy 2011/833/EU), United Nations Security Council (1267/1718/1591 lists, public domain), Australian DFAT (consolidated list, Commonwealth CC-BY 4.0), Global Affairs Canada (SEMA list, Canada OGL), Japan Ministry of Finance, Swiss SECO, and New Zealand DPMC. Verify every listing against the cited authority's official notice before relying on it for compliance.
View this vessel's live sanctions record · Report a correction

Screen any vessel against 50+ sanctions lists

Strait Up Maritime is a sanctions-screening platform for shipping. Free tier includes 5 screenings/month.

Screen This Vessel — Free

Stay ahead of maritime sanctions risk

Don't just read the news — track the vessels, owners, and chokepoints behind it. Strait Up Maritime gives compliance teams continuous monitoring and full vessel intelligence:

Watchlist Monitoring

Add any vessel to your watchlist. Get instant alerts if its sanctions status, ownership, or flag changes.

Position Tracking

See where vessels are right now. Track movements across global chokepoints in real time.

Dark Activity Alerts

Get alerted when a vessel goes dark — turns off its AIS transponder, a common sanctions evasion tactic.

STS Transfer Detection

Flagged automatically when vessels conduct ship-to-ship transfers with sanctioned counterparts.

Ownership & Management

Registered owner, ISM manager, P&I club, classification society — the full corporate chain behind any vessel.

Compliance Reports

Weekly personalised compliance snapshot. Exportable PDF screening records for audit defence.

Voyage History

Where vessels have been — ports visited, chokepoints crossed, trade routes mapped.

AI Compliance Assistant

Ask questions about any vessel's risk profile, sanctions exposure, and compliance obligations.

Start Free — Monitor Maritime Risk

Free tier includes 5 screenings/month + fleet map.

Disclaimer. Strait Up Maritime aggregates and summarises sanctions-related news from public-domain government sources (US Treasury OFAC, UK OFSI). Summaries are generated automatically by AI and may contain inaccuracies. We do not warrant the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of any content on this page. Strait Up Maritime is a journalism and information service — it is not a substitute for legal counsel, regulatory advice, or official sanctions verification. Use of this content is governed by our Terms of Use and News Aggregation Policy.