UAE accuses Iran of breaching international sanctions at Khor Fakkan port
A ship insurer has warned that oil cargoes loaded ship to ship at Khor Fakkan port in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) may contain Iranian crude disguised as Iraqi barrels, and that it cannot insure these volumes as they are in breach of U.S. sanctions on Tehran.
Insurer West of England sent a letter to its members this week stating that Iranian crude labelled as Iraqi oil was being transferred ship to ship (STS) by smugglers at the Khor Fakkan port in the UAE.
“It appears that such oil may routinely be described as being of Iraqi origin and as having been loaded on board the transferring vessel at Basra some time before the proposed STS operation,” the insurer said in a letter dated Jan. 13.
The insurer said it “cannot provide insurance to vessels which load Iranian cargo in such circumstances and cover will cease in its entirety if such cargo is loaded”. The report comes as U.S. lawmakers, keen for Washington to take a harder line with Tehran on its nuclear program, press ahead with a plan for more sanctions on Iran.
A ship insurer has warned that oil cargoes loaded ship to ship at Khor Fakkan port in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) may contain Iranian crude disguised as Iraqi barrels, and that it cannot insure these volumes as they are in breach of U.S. sanctions on Tehran.
Insurer West of England sent a letter to its members this week stating that Iranian crude labelled as Iraqi oil was being transferred ship to ship (STS) by smugglers at the Khor Fakkan port in the UAE.
“It appears that such oil may routinely be described as being of Iraqi origin and as having been loaded on board the transferring vessel at Basra some time before the proposed STS operation,” the insurer said in a letter dated Jan. 13.
The insurer said it “cannot provide insurance to vessels which load Iranian cargo in such circumstances and cover will cease in its entirety if such cargo is loaded”. The report comes as U.S. lawmakers, keen for Washington to take a harder line with Tehran on its nuclear program, press ahead with a plan for more sanctions on Iran.