COSCO VLCC Wins Temporary Sanction Relief

A supertanker owned by COSCO Shipping Tankers (Dalian) has received a temporary waiver from U.S. sanctions that has allowed the ship to discharge crude oil cargoes, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday.

The Very large crude carrier (VLCC) Coswisdom Lake, which discharged some crude in Singapore last week, offloaded its remaining oil at Brunei on Wednesday, shipping data on Refinitiv Eikon showed.

The sanctions will resume after the cargoes are discharged, the source said.

Sanction waivers were also being sought for a very large crude carrier carrying U.S. oil to South Korea, the source added.

COSCO Dalian was one of four Chinese shipping companies to be sanctioned by the Trump administration in late September for allegedly transporting Iranian oil.

COSCO Dalian did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The U.S. State Department could not be immediately reached for comment.

COSCO Dalian and its subsidiaries own 43 oil tankers, including 26 very large crude carriers (VLCCs), according to two disclosure documents issued by COSCO Dalian’s parent company, COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation Co, on Oct. 1. 

Reporting By Florence Tan and Jonathan Saul