Nuclear Iran News

The 25 crew members of the MSC Aries, which was seized by Iran on April 13, are safe, shipping firm MSC said on Wednesday, adding that discussions with Iranian authorities are in progress to secure their earliest release."We are also working with the Iranian authorities to have the cargo discharged," the Swiss headquartered company said in a statement.Iran's Revolutionary Guards seized the container vessel in the Strait of Hormuz days after Tehran vowed to retaliate for a suspected Israeli strike on its consulate in Damascus on April 1.

The U.S. on Friday divulged it disrupted in April a multimillion-dollar shipment of crude oil by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, seizing more than 980,000 barrels of contraband crude oil that violated U.S. sanctions.In April, Reuters reported that the U.S. confiscated cargo onboard tanker Suez Rajan, which was carrying Iranian oil at sea. The U.S. statement on Friday confirmed and fleshed out details of the story which cited sources.The "illicit sale and transport of Iranian oil" violated sanctions targeting Iran, the U.S.

The International Maritime Organization's Council (IMO) has elected Arsenio Antonio Dominguez Velasco from Panama as its secretary-general, the UN shipping agency said on Tuesday.Dominguez beat six other contenders from China, Turkey, Kenya, Finland, Dominica and Bangladesh in a vote and will take office on January 1, 2024, for a four-year term, subject to the approval of the IMO Assembly.Dominguez will take the helm at a crucial time as the shipping industry grapples with challenges including pressures to speed up decarbonization.A trained naval architect…

An oil tanker runs aground off eastern China, leaking fuel into the water. Another is caught in a collision near Cuba. A third is seized in Spain for drifting out of control.These vessels were part of a "shadow" fleet of tankers carrying oil last year from countries hit by Western sanctions, according to a Reuters analysis of ship tracking and accident data and interviews with more than a dozen industry specialists.Hundreds of extra ships have joined this opaque parallel trade…

Panama's vessel registry, the world's largest, has withdrawn its flag from 136 ships linked to Iran's state oil company in the last four years, the country's maritime authority said this week, pushing back against claims by an anti-nuclear group.Shipments of Iranian crude hit all-time highs in the last two months of 2022 and had a strong start this year, according to flow tracking firms. Those gains come despite U.S. sanctions on companies it accuses of helping Iran export oil…

The market for old oil tankers is booming, and it's all down to efforts by Western nations to curb trade in Russian crude.As Western shipping and maritime services firms steer clear of Russian oil to avoid falling foul of sanctions or harming their reputations, new companies have leapt into the void, and they're snapping up old tankers that might normally be scrapped.The European Union banned all seaborne Russian crude imports from Dec. 5, with a fuel import ban to follow in February.

An Iranian-flagged tanker on Friday delivered an oil shipment to Syria, which the United States had previously confiscated around Greece, ending months of uncertainty about the cargo, a ship tracker said.The seizure from the Lana, formerly the Pegas, prompted Iranian forces in May to seize two Greek tankers in the Middle East Gulf which were released on Nov. 16. Satellite tracking data showed the Lana had discharged the cargo of around 700,000 barrels in the Syrian port of Banias, said Claire Jungman, chief of staff with U.S. advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), which monitors Iran-related tanker traffic through ship and…

When the supertanker Young Yong sailed to the Chinese port of Qingdao in September last year, it had quality certificates for its cargo stating it was transporting Malaysian crude oil, according to the documents reviewed by Reuters.But satellite images and photos show the Chinese-owned ship had loaded the oil four months earlier in Venezuela, an OPEC nation in South America under U.S. oil sanctions.The Young Yong is one of three vessels identified by Reuters that were chartered by little-known companies to export Venezuelan oil and used false documents to conceal its origin, according to shipping documents and 11 sources with knowledge of the trade.Two of those tankers, including the Young Yong, were designated this month by U.S.

The international ship registries of Djibouti and the Cook Islands suspended the flags on five oil tankers, following sanctions by the United States this month for having facilitated oil trade for Hezbollah and Iran’s Quds Force, nongovernment organization United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) said on Monday.The U.S. Treasury Department in early November imposed sanctions on a wide network of companies, people and vessels accused of concealing the Iranian origins of shipments and exporting them around the world.Oil tankers Bueno…

Tankers carrying about 1.22 million barrels of Iranian crude and 2 million barrels of condensate are scheduled to discharge at Venezuela's Jose terminal in the coming days, according to a document from state oil company PDVSA.Venezuela relies in Iran for a large portion of the diluents that PDVSA uses to convert its heavy oil to exportable grades. Iranian crude also is being refined in the South American country to produce motor fuels.One of the tankers that arrived this month in Venezuelan waters is the Iran-flagged very large crude carrier (VLCC) Huge, operated by National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), according to the document. Non-profit organization United Against Nuclear Iran and monitoring service TankerTrackers.com confirmed its identity.For the second cargo…

An Iranian-flagged tanker is reloading oil that was confiscated by the United States earlier this year after Greek authorities approved the release of the cargo, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday.The case has strained relations between Athens and Tehran amid growing tensions between Iran and the United States after Washington hired a tanker in April to impound the oil onboard the Lana tanker, which had been anchored off Greece.The removal of oil from the Lana, formerly the Pegas…

A Russian tanker impounded by Greece this week and reportedly carrying Iranian oil will be released amid confusion about sanctions on its owners."The coast guard has been ordered by the anti-money laundering authority to release the vessel," a Greek government official said, without providing further details.On Tuesday, Greek authorities impounded the 115,500-deadweight tonnage Russian-flagged Pegas, with 19 Russian crew members on board, on the southern coast of the island of Evia.They said the ship was impounded as part of EU sanctions on Russia for the invasion of Ukraine.Earlier this month, the EU banned Russian-flagged vessels from its ports…

Greece has impounded a Russian oil tanker off the island of Evia, the Greek coastguard said on Tuesday, as part of European Union sanctions imposed on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.Earlier this month, the EU banned Russian-flagged vessels from the 27-nation bloc's ports, with some exemptions, as it adopted new sweeping sanctions against Russia for what the Kremlin describes as a "special military operation".The 115,500-deadweight tonnage Russian-flagged Pegas, with 19 Russian crew members on board, was seized near Karystos on the southern coast of Evia, which lies just off the Greek mainland near Athens.The Russian embassy in Athens…

A U.S.-sanctioned Venezuela-owned supertanker that had mechanical problems since January is transferring its 2-million-barrel cargo of heavy crude to other vessels in Asia, according to three people familiar with the matter.The very large crude carrier (VLCC) Maximo Gorki left Venezuela in November amid an export push designed to generate funds for cash-strapped state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), which has been under U.S. trading sanctions since 2019.Aging infrastructure problems, including a lack of oil storage and vessels, frequent refinery outages and export port congestion, are undermining PDVSA's increased oil production, impeding efforts to boost revenue, according to company documents and sources.

Greece-based Empire Navigation is investigating whether Iranian oil was transferred onto one of the vessels it manages, the company said in a statement, after a U.S. advocacy group first made such allegation last week.Top oil shipping companies say they are grappling with a growing risk of handling oil shipments originating from countries that have been targeted by U.S. sanctions such as Iran and Venezuela.A breach of U.S. sanctions could lead to a company losing access to the dollar financial system, having assets seized, and insurance cover for ships canceled, U.S. and insurance industry officials say.Empire Navigation said it was "aware of the allegation of non-compliance regarding our managed vessel…

Two tankers have had their environmental and safety classification withdrawn by a U.S. company that provides such certification, after accusations by a U.S. advocacy group that they had shipped cargoes of Iranian oil, documents seen by Reuters show.Countries targeted by tougher U.S. sanctions, including Iran and Venezuela, have responded to the mounting pressure with elaborate strategies to circumvent restrictions on their oil exports.Top oil shipping companies say they have in turn responded by tightening guidelines and deploying technology to prevent accidental sanctions breaches, which U.S. officials have said could lead to them being…

Top oil shipping companies say they have tightened operational guidelines and deployed technology to prevent accidental breaches of sanctions, as the countries hit by ever tougher restrictions fight back with elaborate strategies to dodge them.Washington has ramped up shipping-related sanctions over the last two years to make it harder for countries, such as Iran and Venezuela, to export the oil that provides their main source of revenue.In response, Iran and Venezuela have developed sophisticated methods to bypass sanctions…

Germany and Iran seeks to develop economic relations in the field of maritime trade and ports for increasing the trade volume between the two countries, reports PressTV. German Ambassador to Tehran Michael Baron von Ungern was quoted by Fars news agency as saying that increased cooperation between the two countries’ ports will certainly boost the volume of trade between Tehran and Berlin. Germany is a major trade partner for Iran and both sides are willing to develop maritime cooperation between Iran’s Rajaei port and German’s Hormozgan port that are going to be key players in this trade deal. The Rajaei port conforms to international standards and infrastructures for the exchange of goods between two countries.

United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) has called on Sweden’s Stoc Holding AB to explain and cease its business to and from Iran with the tankship 'Persia'. According to UANI, Stoc Holding controls a vessel, called the "Persia," that appears to operate a dedicated route in support of Iran's petrochemical industry. Stoc Holding openly advertises its ties to sanctioned Iranian entities on the front page of its website. UANI recently launched its Maritime Intelligence Network and Rogue Vessel Analysis (MINERVA) system, to provide real-time tracking and course prediction for Iranian and Iran-related vessels. MINERVA’s unique capabilities allow UANI to monitor such vessels, and take relevant action to halt illegal Iran-sponsored shipping schemes.

United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) called on Italy’s Ignazio Messina & Co. SpA, the world’s second largest roll-on/roll-off tanker operator, to immediately end its Iran operations. Ignazio Messina operates container and roll-on/roll-off services at the port of Bandar Abbas – Iran's largest port through which 90% of its container traffic passes. The Bandar Abbas port is known to be controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). In a July 2, 2013 response to UANI, Ignazio Messina stated that “Till [D]ecember 2012 the Terminal Operators assisting our vessels were Messrs Faraz Royal Qeshim Co. Ignazio Messina’s response is insufficient…

ClassNK maintains an office in Tehran and provides certification for two Iranian radio firms that service Iranian shipping companies. In a July 12, 2012 letter to ClassNK Chairman and President Noboru Ueda, UANI CEO, Ambassador Mark D. By providing services to these companies, ClassNK is directly facilitating the operations of Iran’s shipping sector, an action that enables the Iranian government to circumvent multilateral sanctions that have been imposed to prevent it from further developing its illegal nuclear weapons program. The argument that ClassNK does not directly service Iranian vessels is without merit. The certification services provided by ClassNK to Arya Azhand Darya and Persia Hormoz Shipyard…

United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) CEO, Ambassador Mark D. Last week, UANI called on ClassNK, to close its Tehran office and stop certifying Iranian entities. "We applaud ClassNK for pledging to close its Tehran office. Once it follows through on today's announcement to end its work in Iran, ClassNK will have closed yet another avenue for the Iranian regime to circumvent international sanctions. We call on the Korean Register of Shipping and others to follow the lead of ClassNK, Bureau Veritas, Germanischer Lloyd, and others and help impose an international shipping blockade on Iran. UANI has highlighted the shipping industry as an area where the international community can further pressure Iran.

UANI urges Obama Administration to discipline MTN following evidence it conspired to bypass U.S. Sanctions against Iran. (MTN Group Limited is a multi-national telecommunications group offering voice and data communications products and services to individuals and land/maritime businesses). UANI ( United Against Nuclear Iran) Ambassador Mark D. Wallace, issued the following statement regarding new evidence that MTN actively conspired to bypass U.S. sanctions and procure U.S. "MTN’s corruption in Iran clearly has no bounds. MTN is willing to, and has done, whatever is necessary to give the Iranian regime what it seeks. MTN is a direct threat to U.S. national security interests and the human rights of the Iranian people. The Obama administration must sanction MTN.