Free tool
Free Vessel Sanctions Search: Check a Ship by IMO Number or Name
Check whether a ship is sanctioned before you charter, insure, finance, crew or trade cargo with it. Type an IMO number, an MMSI or the ship's name and get every listing on the US OFAC SDN list, the UK Sanctions List, the Swiss SECO list, Canada's and Australia's consolidated lists and the French Trésor register — each with the list it came from and a link to the official record. No signup, and nothing you search is stored.
This is not an official government tool — each result links to the authoritative record on its sanctions list.
Example vessel sanctions checks
Designated ships to try in the search box above, with the lists each one is found on. Two of them show why the IMO number is the identifier to search: the same hull carries different names on different lists.
| Search | Lists | Program | What it is | Official record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IMO 9116412 | US OFAC SDN | SDGT | The Iranian tanker Adrian Darya 1, formerly Grace 1, designated by OFAC in August 2019 | OFAC entry |
| IMO 8914934 | US OFAC SDN, UK, Australia DFAT | DPRK | Listed by OFAC as EVER BRIGHT 88 and by the UK and Australia as FAN KE — the same hull under two names, which is why the IMO number is the safer search | OFAC entry |
| IMO 7612448 | US OFAC SDN, UK, Canada | RUSSIA-EO14024 | Spelled BALTIYSKIY-111 by OFAC, Baltiyskiy by the UK and Balitiyskiy III by Canada — one IMO number matches all three | OFAC entry |
| Kum Un San 3 | US OFAC SDN, UK, Australia DFAT | DPRK4 | A North Korean vessel found by name; its listings also carry IMO 8705539 | OFAC entry |
What the vessel search checks
Six sanctions lists publish ship identifiers, and this search reads all of them: IMO numbers and MMSIs from the US OFAC SDN list, and IMO numbers from the UK Sanctions List, the Swiss SECO list, Canada's and Australia's consolidated lists and the French Trésor register. An IMO number is matched exactly on its seven digits, so "IMO 9116412", "IMO9116412" and "9116412" are the same search; a nine-digit number is matched as an MMSI.
A ship's name is matched against the names and aliases of the vessels those lists designate, ranked by similarity. Search both when you can: some listings carry no IMO number, and a renamed ship is only found by its number. Company IMO numbers — the separate seven-digit numbers given to shipowners and managers — are not ship identifiers and are not searched here; check the company itself with the free SDN search.
A match is a lead to verify against the official record, and a clear result means no listing on the lists searched — not a clearance. The search does not look through to owners or operators: a ship controlled by a sanctioned company can be blocked without being listed itself.
Screening vessels in software
The same check is one API call: screen a ship by IMO number or MMSI with a sanctioned / flagged verdict and an audit trail, screen its name with /screen/name?type=vessel, or send a whole fleet in one batch request. The free tier includes 1,000 requests a month.
GET /api/v1/screen/vessel/{identifier}
curl "https://api.compliapi.com/api/v1/screen/vessel/IMO9116412" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $COMPLIAPI_TOKEN"Response
{
"value": "IMO9116412",
"flagged": true,
"sanctioned": true,
"lists_checked": ["ofac", "ofac_consolidated", "uk_fcdo_sanctions", "ch_seco", "ca_sanctions", "au_dfat", "fr_tresor"],
"matches": [
{
"list": "ofac",
"list_name": "US OFAC SDN",
"list_type": "sanctions",
"match": "exact",
"value": "IMO 9116412",
"source_url": "https://sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov/Details.aspx?id=27304",
"metadata": { "sdn_name": "ADRIAN DARYA 1", "sdn_type": "Vessel", "kind": "imo" }
}
]
}Frequently asked questions
How do I check if a ship is sanctioned?
Search its IMO number here: the tool checks the number against every ship identifier on the OFAC SDN list, the UK Sanctions List, the Swiss SECO list, Canada's and Australia's consolidated lists and the French Trésor register, and returns each listing with a link to its official record. Searching the ship's name as well catches listings that carry no IMO number. A match is a lead to verify against the official record; no match means no listing on the lists searched, not a clearance.
Why search by IMO number rather than by ship name?
An IMO number is assigned to a hull when it is built and stays with it for life, while a ship's name, flag and MMSI can change — and sanctioned ships are often renamed and reflagged. Different authorities also list the same ship under different names: IMO 8914934 is EVER BRIGHT 88 on the OFAC list and FAN KE on the UK and Australian lists. The IMO number matches all of them.
What is an MMSI, and can I search one?
A Maritime Mobile Service Identity is the nine-digit number a ship's radio and AIS transponder broadcast. OFAC records MMSIs for many designated vessels, and this search matches them exactly. Unlike an IMO number, an MMSI changes when a ship changes flag, so an old MMSI may no longer identify the vessel.
Which sanctions lists does the vessel search cover?
Ship identifiers from the US OFAC SDN list (IMO numbers and MMSIs), the UK Sanctions List, the Swiss SECO list, Canada's Consolidated Autonomous Sanctions List, Australia's DFAT Consolidated List and the French Trésor asset-freeze register (IMO numbers), plus the names and aliases of the vessels those lists designate. Each result names the list it came from.
Is this the official vessel sanctions check?
No. Each sanctions authority's own publication is authoritative — every result links to it — and this search runs on CompliAPI's independently maintained copy of those lists. It also does not cover ownership: a ship owned or operated by a sanctioned company may be blocked under OFAC's 50 Percent Rule without being listed itself, which needs a separate ownership and operator check.
Screen ships automatically
Get a free API key and screen vessels by IMO number in your own workflow — the same engine behind this search.
Free tier: 1,000 requests a month. No credit card required.