In Case You Missed It: "South Korea Firm Urged to Stop Certifying Iran's Ships"

   

In Case You Missed It: "South Korea Firm Urged to Stop Certifying Iran's Ships" UANI Campaign Covered by Reuters News South Korea firm urged to stop certifying Iran's ships By Jonathan Saul and Meeyoung Cho Reuters June 28, 2012 A South Korean ship classification society faces pressure from a U.S. lobby group to stop verifying safety and environmental standards for Iran's biggest shipping companies as tightening U.S. and European sanctions restrict its oil exports. Without verification from such bodies, ships are unable to call at international ports. U.S. group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), in a letter sent this week to the Korean Register of Shipping (KR), urged the society to stop providing classification and certification services to the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), its front companies and the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC). "KR's irresponsible decision to provide certification services at a time when responsible businesses are leaving Iran undermines the efforts of the international community to isolate the Iranian regime," Mark Wallace, UANI's chief executive and a former U.S. ambassador wrote in the letter dated June 25. A targeted campaign by UANI, which includes former U.S. ambassadors on its board and is funded by private donations, had led Germany's Germanischer Lloyd and France's Bureau Veritas to drop their classification cover for Iranian shipping firms. "It is not simply a question of KR violating relevant sanctions provisions, but of following a responsible course of action," Wallace said, calling for a response by July 2. A KR official said on Thursday the society was looking into all measures. ... Click here to read the full article. Click here to read UANI's full letter to KRS. Click here to send a message to KRS. Click here to visit UANI's Shipping Campaign page. ###                                                                        United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) is a program of the American Coalition Against Nuclear Iran, Inc., a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran should concern every American and be unacceptable to the community of nations. Since 1979 the Iranian regime, most recently under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's leadership, has demonstrated increasingly threatening behavior and rhetoric toward the US and the West. Iran continues to defy the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the United Nations in their attempts to monitor its nuclear activities. A number of Arab states have warned that Iran's development of nuclear weapons poses a threat to Middle East stability and could provoke a regional nuclear arms race. In short, the prospect of a nuclear armed Iran is a danger to world peace. United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) is a non-partisan, broad-based coalition that is united in a commitment to prevent Iran from fulfilling its ambition to become a regional super-power possessing nuclear weapons.  UANI is an issue-based coalition in which each coalition member will have its own interests as well as the collective goal of advancing an Iran free of nuclear weapons. The Objectives of United Against a Nuclear Iran Inform the public about the nature of the Iranian regime, including its desire and intent to possess nuclear weapons, as well as Iran's role as a state sponsor of global terrorism, and a major violator of human rights at home and abroad; Heighten awareness nationally and internationally about the danger that a nuclear armed Iran poses to the region and the world; Mobilize public support, utilize media outreach, and persuade our elected leaders to voice a robust and united American opposition to a nuclear Iran; Lay the groundwork for effective US policies in coordination with European and other allies; Persuade the regime in Tehran to desist from its quest for nuclear weapons, while striving not to punish the Iranian people, and; Promote efforts that focus on vigorous national and international, social, economic, political and diplomatic measures. UANI is led by an advisory board of outstanding national figures representing all sectors of our country.

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