UANI

"Iran’s largest crude-export terminal is poised to receive its first internationally owned tanker in a month, ending an absence caused by European Union curbs on insuring ships that extended to almost all the fleet.

The Ryuho Maru, now insured by the Japanese state, will arrive at Kharg Island tomorrow, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg…The Ryuho Maru, owned by Tokyo-based Iino Kaiun Kaisha Ltd., will load about 1.7 million barrels of crude, three officials from refiners and Japan’s trade ministry said last week." (Bloomberg, "Japan Crude Tanker Signals Iran After International Absence," 7/18/2012)

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"Japan will load its first Iranian crude cargo backed by sovereign guarantees since sanctions disrupted coverage in the international reinsurance market.

JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. and Idemitsu Kosan Co. will load about 1.7 million barrels of Iranian crude on the very large crude carrier Ryuho Maru on about July 20 at Kharg Island, the country’s biggest oil-export terminal, according to three officials from the refiners and Japan’s trade ministry. The tanker, owned by Iino Kaiun Kaisha Ltd. , will be backed by the Japanese state, they said, asking not to be identified because the information is confidential.

Japan’s Iranian crude imports will fall in July because refiners were unsure whether the sovereign insurance would be available when they planned July-loading schedules last month, the officials said. Japan’s parliament passed a bill on June 20 to provide $7.6 billion of guarantees to tanker owners that carry Iranian oil. European Union sanctions, introduced as an attempt to persuade Iran to halt its nuclear program, took effect July 1." (Bloomberg, "Japan Set To Load First Iran Crude With Sovereign Insurance," 7/13/12)

K-Line has multiple European and American subsidiaries, including K-Line America and K-Line Europe. (K-Line: About Us)

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Operates as a liner in Iranian ports.  (Ports and Maritime Organization: Shipping Lines which operating in Iranian Ports)

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Uses Tidewater Middle East Co.’s private terminals in the Shahid Rajaee Port Complex. (Tidewater: Reflection of Tomorrow)

On June 23, 2011, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Tidewater Middle East Co. (“Tidewater”), Iran’s major port operator, because the IRGC owns it and uses it for illicit activities including weapons shipments. (U.S. Department of the Treasury Press Center, “Treasury Sanctions Major Iranian Commercial Entities,” 6/23/11)  The EU followed with its own sanctions against Tidewater on January 23, 2012. (Official Journal or the European Union: Council Decision 2012/35/CFSP)

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Listed by the Iranian Ports and Maritime Organization as doing business with the Iranian Jet Marin Servis.  (Ports & Maritime Organization: Companies Affairs Department: Liners)

"A Japanese ship classification society will close its Tehran office, becoming the latest firm to face pressure by a U.S. lobby group to end dealings with Iran as backers of Western sanctions pile pressure on the Islamic Republic. Japan's ClassNK said it did not verify safety and environmental standards for Iranian ships, but was nevertheless pulling out of Iran.'We at ClassNK have already voluntarily refrained from activities in Iran, and we have no vessels with Iranian flags, so we do not think that our current activities are running foul of the Iran sanctions,' a senior ClassNK official told Reuters on Tuesday.'But considering the environment that surrounds us as of late, there were talks on this inside the organisation, and we have officially decided to close our Tehran office.' The move follows a call last week by U.S. group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) to cut ties with Iran . . . While UANI acknowledged ClassNK did not provide formal certification services to Iranian vessels, it said the Japanese firm maintained an office in Tehran, which 'lends important symbolic support to the regime.' UANI added that ClassNK also provided technical certificates for two Iranian firms that did business with Iranian shipping companies. The two Iranian firms provide distressed radio beacons, which transmit internationally recognised emergency codes and location data.'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,' UANI said. The ClassNK official did not refer to the two Iranian firms but said it would close its office as soon as possible." (Reuters, "Japanese ship certifier to end Iran ties," 7/17/12)

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"Nippon Kaiji Kyokai, the world's largest ship classification society, has no plans to shut down its operations in Iran in response to the risks associated with tensions between the West and the Islamic Republic, the executive vice president of the society, also known as ClassNK, said Tuesday. Many ship classification societies, banks, insurers and shipowners have been forced to cut ties with Iran because of tightening Western sanctions. Japan-based ClassNK doesn't service any Iranian ships, so the sanctions haven't impacted the society's operations, Yasushi Nakamura told Dow Jones Newswires on the sidelines of an event announcing a partnership with NAPA, a leading software house for ship design and operations, to provide a solution for the global Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan, for which regulation will come into force on Jan 1, 2013.'We have full intention to maintain our Iranian office to service other clients worldwide,' Nakamura said. 'If there's a breakthrough in talks between Iran and the West, and the situation gets resolved, we could expand coverage to include Iranian carriers too.'" (Wall Street Journal, "ClassNK To Maintain Iran Operations Despite Western Sanctions -Executive," 5/8/12)

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“Japanese ship classification society NIPPON KAIJI KYOKAI (ClassNK) is pleased to announce the establishment of two new offices in Africa and the Middle East this month. The first is a new office in Accra, Ghana, which will officially open on 25 December 2009, while the other is in Tehran, Iran, which will open on 31 December.” (MaritimeDirectory.com, “Shipping – Two New Class NK offices in Ghana and Iran,” 12/18/2009)

"The Japan Ship Owners’ Mutual P&I Association, the body that covers owners against the risk of oil spills and tanker collisions, is likely to lose access to Europe’s reinsurance market after the sanctions come into force July 1, according to the officials... Japan’s sovereign guarantees will replace the $7.6 billion in cover that the country’s P&I club currently buys from the International Group, according to one of the officials." (Bloomberg Businessweek, "Japan Said to Seek Sovereign Cover for Iran Tankers This Month," 5/17/2012)

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"The Japan P&I club, the country's main ship insurer against pollution and personal injury claims, has also been forced to reduce its cover for a tanker carrying Iranian oil to $8 million from July 1 from the current $1 billion due to EU sanctions." (Reuters, "Japan to limit Iran oil voyages in Mideast Gulf," 4/12/2012)

"Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance, Sompo Japan Insurance and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance are among those that have approached Japanese oil refiners to cut coverage for Iranian oil and petrochemical shipments by more than 50 percent, the Nikkei business daily said on Wednesday." (Reuters, "Japan insurers to cut Iran oil insurance coverage," 4/4/2012)

"Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance, Sompo Japan Insurance and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance are among those that have approached Japanese oil refiners to cut coverage for Iranian oil and petrochemical shipments by more than 50 percent, the Nikkei business daily said on Wednesday." (Reuters, "Japan insurers to cut Iran oil insurance coverage," 4/4/2012)

"Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance, Sompo Japan Insurance and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance are among those that have approached Japanese oil refiners to cut coverage for Iranian oil and petrochemical shipments by more than 50 percent, the Nikkei business daily said on Wednesday." (Reuters, "Japan insurers to cut Iran oil insurance coverage," 4/5/2012)

"Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd (YMC) has recently concluded a technical assistance agreement with the nationaly run Iranian motorcycle maker DMI to being the manufacture of motorcylces in Iran...In the past, from 1971 to '81, DMI manufactured three Yamaha brand motorcycle models..."  (Yamaha.  "Yamaha Brand Motorcycle Production Begins Again in Iran."  5/23/2001)

"Nippon Yusen K.K, the second-largest owner of VLCCs, won't carry Iranian oil if it means ships aren't insured, Yuji Isoda, an investor relations manager for the Tokyo company, said Feb. 9. The company doesn't yet know how its insurers will handle the EU sanctions, he said by phone." (Bloomberg, "Iran Sanctions Tighten as OSG to Frontline Halt Crude Cargo," 2/13/2012)

"The oil rigs currently operating in Iranian waters mostly work for Iranian state-owned companies. The rigs are owned by a variety of foreign firms, including Norway's Sinvest, London-based Foresight Group, China Oilfield Service, Japan Drilling and Saipem, a subsidiary of Italian oil giant ENI. Industry sources said they would probably be certified by either Lloyd's or Bureau Veritas. BV did not respond to inquiries." (The Washington Post, "Congress sees shipping-certification firms as tool to tighten Iran noose," 12/5/2011)