Islamic Republic Of Iran News

The United States has confiscated an Iranian oil cargo held on a Russian-operated ship near Greece and will send the cargo to the United States aboard another vessel, three sources familiar with the matter said.Greek authorities last month impounded the Iranian-flagged Pegas, with 19 Russian crew members on board, near the coast of the southern island of Evia due to EU sanctions.They said the ship was impounded as part of EU sanctions on Russia for the invasion of Ukraine. However…

Iran will respond promptly to any threat against its security, the foreign ministry said on Monday, after the United States, Israel and Britain blamed Tehran for an attack on an Israeli-managed tanker off the coast of Oman.Tehran has denied any involvement in the attack on Thursday in which two crew members—a Briton and a Romanian—were killed.The United States and Britain said on Sunday they would work with their allies to respond to the attack on the Mercer Street, a Liberian-flagged, Japanese-owned petroleum product tanker managed by Israeli-owned Zodiac Maritime.British Prime Minister Boris Johnson described the incident as "clearly an unacceptable and outrageous attack on commercial shipping"."Iran should face up to the consequences of what they've done…

The United States on Friday sanctioned companies in Iran, China and the United Arab Emirates for doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines and on three Iranian entities over conventional arms proliferation.They are the latest in a series of measures aimed at stepping up pressure on Tehran in the waning days of President Donald Trump's administration, which ends on January 20.U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington had sanctioned seven companies, including Chinese-based Jiangyin Mascot Special Steel Co.

The United States on Monday said it blacklisted two Chinese men and six Chinese entities for having dealt with Iranian shipping company Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) and, in some cases, helping it to evade U.S. sanctions.The U.S. State Department named the entities as Reach Holding Group (Shanghai) Company Ltd.; Reach Shipping Lines; Delight Shipping Co., Ltd.; Gracious Shipping Co. Ltd.; Noble Shipping Co. Ltd.; and Supreme Shipping Co. Ltd.In a statement, it also said it had targeted Eric Chen…

Earlier this year, The U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and the U.S. Coast Guard issued a new advisory to provide those engaged or involved in trade in the maritime industry with further information and tools to counter illicit shipping and sanctions evasion.The advisory is representative of the U.S. Government’s increasingly detailed efforts towards addressing these issues, as illustrated by OFAC’s recent sanctions actions which show a trend of incremental but clear extension of oversight.

U.S. sanctions imposed on Iran's shipping network took effect on Monday, months after they were announced in December following accusations of supporting proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a statement on Monday warned commercial and maritime industries, governments and others that they risked U.S. sanctions if they did business with the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) and its Shanghai-based subsidiary, E-Sail Shipping…

The Iranian navy will maintain regular missions in the Gulf, the ISNA news agency reported on Wednesday, a day after the United States warned mariners there to stay away from U.S. warships.“The naval units of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman will continue their regular missions in accordance with professional principles as in the past,” ISNA quoted an unnamed military official as saying.The U.S. warning to mariners followed U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat last month to fire on any Iranian ships that harass U.S. Navy vessels.The Bahrain-based U.S.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned the United States about its military activities in the Gulf on Sunday, adding that their navy had as a result increased patrols, which would also secure the passage of Iranian ships and combat fuel smuggling.The U.S. military said on Wednesday that 11 Revolutionary Guards naval vessels had come close to its navy and Coast Guard ships, describing the moves “dangerous and provocative”.The Guards’ statement on Sunday, which said Iran will give a decisive response to any mistake by the United States in the Gulf…

The International Maritime Organization (IMO), Thailand’s Ministry of Transport and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia (UNESCAP) have recently organized the second regional Knowledge Partnership Workshop in Asia in Bangkok,The workshop was designed to support maritime technical cooperation activities in the region.The workshop brought together officials from transport ministries, responsible for maritime affairs, and finance ministries, responsible for official development assistance. Participants shared knowledge, skills, and experience and meet maritime and development cooperation counterparts from around the…

Iran has sold the oil from a tanker released by Gibraltar after weeks in the custody of British Royal Marines and the vessel's owner will decide on its next destination, IRIB news agency quoted an Iranian government spokesman as saying on Monday.Separately, Tehran - embroiled in a spiralling confrontation with Washington over U.S. sanctions meant to strangle Iranian oil exports - announced that it had deployed a naval destroyer with cruise missiles to help secure Iranian ships.The Iranian government spokesman did not identify the recipient of the oil carried by the Adrian Darya tanker. After Gibraltar freed the vessel on Aug. 18, the United States said it would take every action it could to prevent it delivering oil to Syria in contravention of U.S.

The 14th Meeting of the Railway Leaders of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) and the 8th Meeting of the Railway Committee of the Transport Coordination Council of the ECO (TTCC) was held in Dushanbe, Republic of Tajikistan.The meeting discussed various cooperation issues in the field of multi-modal shipping, including transit cargoes by sea transport.The event was attended by representatives of Azerbaijan, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Iran, People Republic of China, Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Intergovernmental Organization for International Freight Transport (EIF)…

Yesterday U.S. President Donald J. Trump issued an executive order enhancing economic sanctions on Iran, targeting the country's leadership. The executive order, in its entirety, follows:By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (8 U.S.C. 1182(f)), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code,I, DONALD J.

Iran's military denied on Monday being behind attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman last week, and said if it decided to block Strait of Hormuz, a vital gateway in the Gulf for the oil industry, it will do it publicly.Iran’s Armed Forces Chief of Staff, Major General Mohammad Baqeri was quoted as saying by Fars news agency: "Regarding the new incidents in the Persian Gulf... if the Islamic Republic of Iran decides to block exports of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, it is militarily strong enough to do that fully and publicly."Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin

Commercial operations began at ndia Ports Global Chabahar Free Zone (IPGCFZ), at Chabahar with the arrival of a vessel after Government of India took over the operations.A Cyprus registered bulk carrier had arrived at Chabahar with 72458 MT of corn cargo. The vessel MV MACHERAS berthed at the terminal at 0130 hrs on 30th December 2018. Thus IPGCFZ carried out its first cargo operation by discharging the imported cargo(ex Brazil) using pneumatic un-loaders.India has written a history with its engagement in Chabahar, claimed a governement release. The physical take-over of the terminal area, cargo handling equipment and Office building was completed by 29th December 2018. The country is now leading the regional cooperation and joint efforts to support land locked Afghanistan.

Afghan Ministry of Transportation will soon launch a commercial shipping line with the assistance of the Islamic Republic of Iran to conduct business activities between Chabahar Free Trade Zone and India.IRNA reported quoted the Afghan Ministry of Transportation as saying that the shipping sector would soon be formed and the ships could operate commercial activities with the flag of Afghanistan in free waters.The other local media hailed the move saying that Afghan will soon establish a department of shipping and ships will plough the ocean flying the Afghan flag. They said the ships would run between Iran’s free port of Chabahar and…

Auditing  International Maritime Organization (IMO) Member States to assess how effectively they administer key IMO treaties is an important part of the Organization's work to ensure its regulatory framework is universally adopted and implemented.According to IMO release, a regional training course for auditors under the IMO's Member State Audit Scheme (IMSAS) took place in Busan, Republic of Korea (29 October - 2 November).The training provided specific skills in auditing Member States using the IMO Instruments Implementation Code as the audit standard. Participants were made up of senior maritime administration personnel who are, or will be…

International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Kitack Lim visited the Islamic Republic of Iran to participate  in a ceremony to commemorate seafarers who lost their lives aboard the Iranian-owned oil tanker Sanchi earlier this year.He visited Iran also to participate in the country's national celebration of World Maritime Day (8 September) and met met the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Mohammad Javad Zarif.Early this year, he issued a statement sympathizing with victims of Iranian vessel collision near China shore.Sanchi, an Iranian tanker carrying condensates collided with a Chinese freight ship in East China coast on January 6.

A who’s who list of maritime industry executives have signed on to voice their support for a zero-carbon future in shipping.The not-for-profit foundation the Global Maritime Forum brought together a group of 34 CEOs and industry leaders from across the global maritime sector to sign a call for action and lead the industry in a transition toward decarbonization.To achieve this, these leaders believe the maritime industry needs to accelerate both technological and business model innovation…

How to implement the Aktau Protocol on regional preparedness, response and cooperation in combating oil pollution incidents was the subject of a workshop in Baku, Azerbaijan this week (18-20 June). The event brought together the five littoral states (Azerbaijan, Islamic Republic of Iran, Kazakhstan, Russian Federation and Turkmenistan) of the Caspian Sea to test the Caspian Sea Plan concerning regional cooperation in dealing with oil pollution in cases of emergency, and guidelines on future regional oil spill exercises were developed. Discussions were held on integrating international assistance offers into the national preparedness and response system.

How to create better shipping for a better future was a theme running throughout the 2018 IMO World Maritime Day Parallel Event (13-15 June), held in Szczecin, Poland. “IMO's heritage for 70 years has been to drive improvements in shipping to achieve a better world today. But we cannot rest on past achievements. Our challenge for the years to come remains the same: to create better shipping - for a better future,” said IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim, in his keynote address. The international audience was welcomed by Mr. Marek Gróbarczyk, Minister of Maritime Economy and Inland Navigation of Poland, and the importance of the event was recognized in remarks in a letter from Mr. Andrzej Duda, President of the Republic of Poland, presented by Mr.

The world's No. 2 container shipping line MSC said on Wednesday it would stop taking new bookings for Iran due to the decision by the United States to re-impose sanctions on Tehran after withdrawing from the international nuclear deal. In a note to clients, privately held MSC said it was "ceasing to provide access to services to and from Iran", adding that they would "conclude this period with the minimum disruption" to their customers' business. "While MSC is not accepting bookings for shipments originating from Iran, or destined to Iran, we will continue to carry certain legally acceptable cargoes during the wind-down period, notably for importation of foodstuffs," Switzerland-based MSC said in its note.

The world's top two container shipping groups Maersk Line and MSC are reviewing their Iran operations after the United States withdrawal from the international nuclear agreement with Tehran.The 2015 agreement, worked out by the United States, five other world powers and Iran, lifted sanctions on Tehran in exchange for limits to its nuclear program.U.S. President Donald Trump also instructed his administration to re-impose U.S. sanctions after a winding down period."MSC is reviewing its services…

Iranian officials responsible for implementing IMO standards on air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from shipping are undergoing IMO training at a national workshop in Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran (18 April). Around 30 participants from the country’s Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO), Department of Environment and numerous ports are taking part. They are being trained on the IMO treaty restricting air pollution from ships as well as ship energy-efficiency measures – MARPOL Annex VI. This includes measures addressing sulphur oxide (SOx) and nitrogen oxide (NOx), which have been successful in lowering the amount of those pollutants being emitted from ships. The event was hosted by the PMO and run by IMO’s Astrid Dispert and a consultant.