A VLCC that allegedly assumed the identity of a scrapped ship to covertly carry out trade for Iran and Venezuela passed through a tangled web of low-profile shipping companies, records show.

The outfits include an entity linked to Dubai-based shipowner Marshal Shipping, which had initially been reported as a buyer of the vessel.

In mid-December, Reuters and TankerTrackers reported the 299,000-dwt Calliop (built 2002) changed its name to Ndros — the moniker of a 301,620-dwt tanker scrapped in 2018.