UANI Calls on Korean Register of Shipping to Comply with New U.S. Sanctions Against the NITC, Stop Certifying Iranian Vessels

   

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 18, 2012 Contact: Nathan Carleton, press@uani.com Phone: (212) 554-3296 UANI Calls on Korean Register of Shipping to Comply with New U.S. Sanctions Against the NITC, Stop Certifying Iranian Vessels New York, NY - On Wednesday, United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) called on the Korean Register of Shipping (KR) to comply with new U.S. sanctions against the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), and stop certifying NITC ships and other Iranian vessels. Last week, the U.S. Treasury Department announced new sanctions against Iranian entities. Treasury identified 58 NITC vessels, as well as the NITC itself and 27 of its affiliated entities, as blocked or "frozen." The NITC entities were officially identified as Government of Iran entities, and NITC vessels property of the Iranian regime. Following yesterday's announcement that Japanese classification society ClassNK will close its Tehran office, KR now stands out as an outlier in the international effort to impose a shipping blockade against Iran. KR recently stated that it would continue to provide services to Iranian vessels. In response to KR's irresponsible behavior, UANI CEO, Ambassador Mark D. Wallace, issued the following statement: KR is a prolific certifier of NITC vessels. Last week's Department of Treasury sanctions mean that KR is now an active certifier of sanctioned entities owned directly by the Iranian regime. KR conspicuously stands out as an outlier in the international effort to impose a shipping blockade against Iran. KR needs to immediately stop helping the Iranian regime bypass international sanctions. KR is one of the only classification societies in the world that continues to provide Iranian vessels with safety certificates. The prominent European shipping services Bureau Veritas, and Germanischer Lloyd, as well as Japan's ClassNK, have stopped certifying Iranian entities in response to UANI. Last month, UANI called on KR to stop certifying Iranian shipping vessels, specifically those of the NITC and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL). Click here to read UANI's full letter to KR. Click here to send a message to KR. 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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