London: The European Union (EU) today reinstated trade sanctions on 32 Iranian shipping companies, citing new legal grounds.
In January, an EU-mandated freeze on the assets of 40 Iranian shipping companies and Iran’s Bank Tejarat was annulled by the EU’s second highest court.
The affected companies include Hamburg-based Ocean Capital Administration, plus IRISL subsidiaries including IRISL Maritime Training Institute, Kish Shipping Line Manning and IRISL Multimodal Transport.
Today, the EU overturned this annulment and relisted all but eight of the companies in its Official Journal. The sanctions are effective immediately.
In its reasons for restoring the asset freeze on Bank Tejarat, the EU said the bank “provides significant support to the Government of Iran by offering financial resources and financing services for oil and gas development projects”.
The shipping firms were all listed because they are owned by Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, which was previously subject to sanctions.
Sanctions also remain in place on National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC).
