US imposes sanctions on Malta-based Iranian shipping lines

The United States has imposed sanctions on three shipping companies located in Malta that belong to Iran's national sea cargo transporter, US Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Stuart Levey told Britain's Financial Times today.

The sanctions were imposed on Friday.

"Substantial attention has already been paid to sanctions in Iran’s banking and energy sectors. But the latest round of measures also sharpens the focus on another sector that is a critical lifeline for Iran’s proliferation and evasion: shipping. Some of Iran’s most dangerous cargo continues to come and go from Iran’s ports, so we must redouble our vigilance over both their domestic shipping lines, and attempts to use third-country shippers and freight forwarders for illicit cargo," Mr Levey wrote in an article.

"Iran has consistently used its national maritime carrier, the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), to advance its missile programmes and to carry other military cargoes. Some shipments have been stopped, and were clear violations of Security Council resolutions – including arms shipments believed to have been destined for Syria, for transfer to Hizbollah. Using an authority designed to freeze the assets of proliferators of weapons of mass destruction, the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) first brought sanctions against IRISL in 2008 for providing services to the arm of the Iranian military that oversees Iran’s ballistic missile programme.

"Almost immediately companies around the world began to shun IRISL, and the company started to use an array of deceptive practices to conceal its identity and skirt sanctions – including falsifying shipping documents, changing names and nominal ownership of vessels, and even repainting ships. It has also sought to assign vessel ownership to front companies outside Iran. These measures to conceal its activities have alarmed an already wary global business community. As a result, IRISL has struggled to maintain the insurance and other services necessary for operating a global shipping business.

"IRISL’s conduct has not escaped the international community’s notice. In June, the UN named three IRISL companies for sanctions, and called for additional vigilance of Iranian shipping more generally. It also granted new powers to inspect Iranian ships, and ships carrying cargo to or from Iran. Subsequently the US Treasury sanctioned five IRISL front companies and 27 vessels, and also identified 71 renamed IRISL vessels. Last month the EU took similar actions.

"Following these steps, last Friday the US Treasury took further measures designating for sanctions three Malta-based IRISL companies: Marble Shipping Limited and Bushehr Shipping Company, two entities directly owned by IRISL; and ISI Maritime Limited, owned by a previously-designated IRISL subsidiary Irano Hind," Mr Levey added.

(See full article at http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d09260fc-a89c-11df-86dd-00144feabdc0.html )

Business involving Iranian shipping companies accounts for some 10% of the throughput at Malta Freeport. The freeport was missed being affected by sanctions against Iran imposed by the EU last month, but countries were told to closely monitor the Iranian companies and their assets were frozen.

The sanctions against Iranian persons or companies listed in the EU’s Official Journal included IRISL (Malta) Ltd, and Marble Shipping Limited (Malta).