US Lifts Sanctions against Cosco Dalian

The United States lifted its sanctions against Cosco Shipping Tanker (Dalian) Co, a unit of Chinese shipping major Cosco Shipping Corporation, which were imposed last year over imports of Iranian oil.

The notice on sanctions lifting issued by the U.S. Treasury on Friday did not include COSCO Shipping Tanker (Dalian) Seaman & Ship Management Co., meaning that the company remains designated.

The sanctions were part of the US efforts to curb any influx of cash into Iran as part of maximum economic pressure on the country over its alleged role in supporting terrorism in the region and its nuclear program.

The announcement was made days before the second waiver on the winding down of operations and transactions with the Chinese tanker operator was set to expire.

Namely, under the latest waiver extension, the companies had until February 4, 2020, to offload non-Iranian crude oil involving COSCO’s Dalian Shipping Tanker.

The removal of sanctions comes after the Phase One deal agreed between China and the U.S., which managed to cool down trade tensions between the two superpowers.

Under the deal, China, the world’s largest importer of oil, has pledged to increase imports of American goods, targeting to bolster its energy imports by USD 52.4 billion above 2017 levels over the next two years.

The release of the company’s vessels to trade freely is expected to fuel overcapacity on the tanker market, and push down rates, which hit a record high following the restrictions on Cosco equaling up to USD 300,000 per day for supertankers.

World Maritime News Staff