Tag: US Sanctions

On April 5, the US sanctioned two companies operating in Venezuela’s oil sector and one vessel used to transport oil to Cuba. Additional vessels, in which Venezuela’s state-owned oil company PDVSA has interests, are blocked property, according to Executive Order 13850. The US encouraged companies, banks, and other institutions not to provide services that support Maduro's practices.

Prof. Dr. Dieter Schwampe, Partner at Arnecke Sibeth Dabelstein, IUMI Professional Partner, talks about the sanctions that are taking place around the world, regarding Iran. The start was made with the termination of the US participation from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), on 5 August 2018, with EU following by publishing the Blocking Regulation.

The US Department of the Treasury’s OFAC, the US Department of State and the US Coast Guard, updated information on North Korean sanctions, providing additional guidance on how to mitigate the risk of involvement in North Korea’s deceptive shipping practices. 

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) updated its Advisory to the maritime petroleum shipping community, to highlight risks associated with shipments to Syria. This advisory updates a previous one on 20 November 2018.

US President Donald Trump announced on March 22 that he lifted sanctions on two Chinese freight forwarders that were accused of trading illegally with North Korea. The US Treasure had imposed large scale sanctions on these companies, which would be added to the already existing sanctions. However, Mr. Trump intervened to withdraw them.

USCG sent cutter Bertholf to Sasebo, Japan, on March 3, to enforce North Korea sanctions in the East China Sea. The cutter arrival to Japan was conducted following a deployment in the East China Sea where the crew assisted in United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR) enforcement against illicit ship-to-ship transfers that violate North Korea sanctions.

The US in coordination with Canada and the EU imposed sanctions to six Russian companies, including shipbuilders and marine equipment manufacturers. The sanctions were announced on March 15 in response to Russia’s continued and ongoing aggression in Ukraine. 

The Maritime Authority of Panama (AMP) moved to cancelling the registration of a number of Iranian vessels, due to US imposing sanctions that target transportation, oil and banking areas. The move came after Juan Carlos Varela, Panamanian president, issued a presidential decree, allowing the AMP to de-register these vessels.

Indian refiners are to lift 8 million barrels of Iranian oil in April, a decrease of 12% in comparison to March because the nation is under discussions with the US to renew the waiver from US sanctions against Tehran, Reuters reports.

A Russian tanker breached trade sanctions as it transferred fuel to a North Korean ship at sea at least four times between October 2017 and May 2018, according to two crew members who saw the transfers. During these transfers, the ship had declared the Port of Ningbo in China, as its destination. However, the crewmembers who gave this information, did not provide evidence of the violation of the sanctions.