Shipping has received a wake-up call, loud and clear, over US sanctions.

Recent actions from the Department of the Treasury’s sanctioning — or threatening to sanction — shipping companies have sent shock waves through the industry.

“This is an unpleasant wake-up,” said Elizabeth Rosenberg, who worked for the department during the Obama administration. Her tenure there included time with its Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac), the lead agency on sanctions.