UANI Calls on Korean Register of Shipping to Stop Certifying Iranian Vessels

On Wednesday, United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) called on the Korean Register of Shipping (KR) to comply with new U.S. sanctions against the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), and stop certifying NITC ships and other Iranian vessels.

Last week, the U.S. Treasury Department announced new sanctions against Iranian entities. Treasury identified 58 NITC vessels, as well as the NITC itself and 27 of its affiliated entities, as blocked or “frozen.” The NITC entities were officially identified as Government of Iran entities, and NITC vessels property of the Iranian regime.

Following yesterday’s announcement that Japanese classification society ClassNK will close its Tehran office, KR now stands out as an outlier in the international effort to impose a shipping blockade against Iran. KR recently stated that it would continue to provide services to Iranian vessels.

In response to KR’s irresponsible behavior, UANI CEO, Ambassador Mark D. Wallace, issued the following statement:

“KR is a prolific certifier of NITC vessels. Last week’s Department of Treasury sanctions mean that KR is now an active certifier of sanctioned entities owned directly by the Iranian regime.

KR conspicuously stands out as an outlier in the international effort to impose a shipping blockade against Iran. KR needs to immediately stop helping the Iranian regime bypass international sanctions.

KR is one of the only classification societies in the world that continues to provide Iranian vessels with safety certificates. The prominent European shipping services Bureau Veritas, and Germanischer Lloyd, as well as Japan’s ClassNK, have stopped certifying Iranian entities in response to UANI.

Last month, UANI called on KR to stop certifying Iranian shipping vessels, specifically those of the NITC and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL)”.

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Source: UANI, July 19, 2012