Beware of breaking sanctions on cargo shipments to Iran, forwarders warned

FREIGHT forwarders are warning the industry to exercise caution in shipping goods to Iran for fear of US$10 million fines and 10-30 year imprisonment for sanction busting.

The warning, published in the British International Freight Association (BIFA) newsletter, comes after Maersk Line was fined $3 million two years ago for breaking US sanctions for shipping to Iran and Sudan. The US alleged that between January 2003 and October 2007 Maersk moved 4,714 shipments on a US-flagged vessels to or from Iran or Sudan.

A report by London Loadstar highlighted that the sanctions against Iran are tightening. In August the US approved new regulations against the Iranian oil industry, while European Union ministers are pushing for further sanctions on financial institutions, the energy sector and maritime shipping.

"As an agent I would be concerned if I had a US office and worked with Iran, as the US can be quite brutal," one forwarder said. "Even raising a legitimate question could get you into further trouble - you could be seen as a saboteur. But then again the EU and the UN also have sanctions on Iran, so forwarders are probably liable even without a US office."

Andrew Robins, vice president customer service for the WCA Family of forwarders, revealed a WCA member in Germany had recently flown some ship spares into Dubai, to be reloaded onto a vessel. "It turns out the vessel was under an Iranian flag, and UPS has subsequently held the shipment, and given our member a number in the US to call, and the whole thing is now going nowhere.

"So there are many risks at this time dealing with Iran, not just on what is the actual shipment. Some countries, without warning, can seize shipments. And if the freight has not been paid for, the agent will be obliged to pay the carrier but will have a hard time getting his money from the customer."

The laws vary from country to country which complicates matters further. "One of the problems is that there is a difference between UK and US laws," said another global forwarder based in London, with a US office. "We found ourselves booked to handle cargo inbound from the US, repackaged in the UK and then on to Iran."

The forwarder said he contacted the UK Foreign Office who said that if the consignee was approved, it was acceptable.

The forwarder added: "We are having to refuse cargo that is legal in the UK because we have a US office. I want to warn other forwarders who might not know about this."

US regulations state: "With certain exceptions, foreign persons who are not US persons are prohibited from re-exporting sensitive US-origin goods, technology or services to Iran or the Government of Iran. Foreign persons involved in such re-exports may be placed on the US Commerce Department's Export Denial Orders list."

According to the report, much of the illegal trade from the US to Iran goes through Dubai.

A spokesman for Emirates, which flies to Tehran, said: "Our systems are updated with details provided by the UN on the names and contact details of any parties affected by an embargo to ensure that shipments to them cannot be booked or made.

"In addition, our SkyChain system has in-built intelligence to alert us to any variations such as name changes. Should we receive such an alert, our team will always re-confirm details before permitting any booking or shipment."