US blacklists Chinese shipping firms for transporting Iranian petrochemicals

The US Department of State has blacklisted seven entities in the latest round of sanctions on companies involved in acquisition, sale, transport, or marketing of petrochemical products from Iran.

The seven companies include Chinese shipping firms Sea Charming Shipping Company and Aoxing Ship Management (Shanghai).

Sea Charming Shipping is a single vessel company of Junzheng Shipping, China’s largest chemical tanker operator, owning the 2008-built 20,000 dwt chemical tanker Sea Charming. Aoxing is also part of Junzheng Shipping, which took over the entire shipping fleet of Sinochem last year.

The latest sanctions come after the US blacklisted Chinese trading company Pamchel Trading Beijing and shipping company Hongyuan Marine in January for allegedly buying and transporting metal products from Iran’s Esfahan Mobarakeh Steel.

The US also sanctioned Chinese shipping conglomerate Cosco’s tanker unit last year for similar reasons and later lifted the sanctions in February after China and US reached a phase one agreement of a broader trade pact in January.

China is a major importer of Iranian oil. Chinese customs data shows that China imported 14.77m tonnes of Iranian oil in 2019.