Iran tankers adopt Tanzania flag to avoid embargo
By The Citizen Reporter
Dar es
Salaam. Reports that an Iranian
oil-tanker company has renamed at least 10 of its vessels and switched them to
Tanzania’s flag to get round international sanctions sent shockwaves through
the country’s leadership on Wednesday, last week.
Government ministers and public officials went into
overdrive following reports that the company had changed the registration of
several of its ships and was now passing itself off as a Tanzanian firm. The
vessels were apparently registered in Zanzibar.
The Minister for Transportation, Dr Harrison
Mwakyembe, said he was aware of the development and had taken action. But his
Foreign Affairs counterpart, Mr Bernard Membe, was in the dark about the saga.
The international news agency Bloomberg reported yesterday
that the oil tanker company known as NITC, which is owned by the Iranian
Pension Fund, has renamed at least 10 of its vessels and switched to the
Tanzanian flag.
Mr Membe, who described the news as “shocking, strange
and irregular according to the governing laws”, said thorough investigations
would be conducted to establish the truth.
Bloomberg reported that NITC renamed five of its very
large crude carriers, each holding about two million barrels of oil, and five
Suezmaxes with a capacity for one million barrels.
Quoting the Equasis shipping database maintained by
the European Commission, the reports pointed out that ownership of the ships
was switched from NITC to new companies operating from the same address in
Tehran. NITC remains the operator, though. All the ships were previously registered
in Malta or Cyprus.
This development comes a few days before the full
European embargo on Iranian crude exports, which starts next Monday, is
extended to insuring vessels that carry the oil. Some 25 NITC tankers are being
used to store crude, the Paris-based International Energy Agency said.
The US and Europe plan to impose the embargo on
Iranian crude oil export amid fears that Iran nuclear programme is aimed at
developing atomic weapons. Mr Membe said: “That’s very strange and it’s
irregular, in accordance with the governing laws. I will need to consult
authorities in Iran for this matter.”
He spoke at Julius Nyerere International Airport shortly before boarding a
plane for an official trip abroad. The minister has directed various
departments to investigate how it was that a foreign company was able to fly a
Tanzania flag on its properties.
Dr Mwakyembe said he was aware of the matter but did
not have details, which he said the authorities were still working on.
Since the vessels were registered in Zanzibar, he added, it was important that
his Zanzibar counterpart comments first.
“I can’t comment before the Zanzibar minister for
Communication and Transport has done so,” he said. “Contact me after he
comments.
The Surface and Maritime Regulatory Authority
(Sumatra) acting Director General, Mr Ahmad Kilima, echoed the sentiments but
added that the Tanzania Maritime Act prohibits foreign companies from
registering their ships in the United Republic. But Zanzibar, which has
separate laws on the issue, does allow open registration.
Efforts to reach the Zanzibari minister, Mr Hamad
Masoud, proved futile and the Zanzibar Maritime Authority (ZMA) boss, Mr
Abdallah Hussein Kombo, would neither confirm nor deny the reports.
He did say, though, that Zanzibar’s Marine Act does
not prohibit foreign companies from registering their vessels in the Isles. “I
can only confirm it if you send me the name of the ships and the company,” Mr
Kombo said. “As for now, I am not aware of the news.” But when contacted
later, Mr Kombo denied knowledge of any transaction involving ZMA and
NITC. He added: “We have not registered any vessel owned by NITC. Maybe
the vessels were registered under another company’s name.”
Govt moves to clear riddle on 10 vessels
On Thursday the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar
said it was trying to establish whether 10 vessels allegedly from an Iranian
company have been registered in Zanzibar and now fly the Tanzanian flag.
Speaking on phone from Zanzibar yesterday, minister
for Infrastructure and Communications Mr Hamad Masoud said he had instructed
the Director General of the Maritime Authority to look into the matter and
determine the registration of the vessels.
“I have ordered Mr Abdallah Kombo, the Director
General of the Maritime Authority to make a follow up and submit a report to me
immediately because we have no record of the alleged vessels,” he told this
paper.
According to reports, an Iranian oil-tanker company
has renamed at least 10 of its vessels and used the Tanzanian flag to avoid
international sanctions.
Minister Masoud stated that he was not aware of the reports that there were 10
vessels of the Iranian oil company that use the Tanzanian flag illegally.
But he could not rule out whether the vessels had been registered as Zanzibar
had an open registry agency based in Dubai called Philtex, whose function is to
register foreign vessels and enable them to operate with the Tanzanian flag.
He said the company was established in 2008 and had
already registered over 100 international vessels now flying the Tanzanian
flag.
Mr Masoud explained that Philtex conducted its
business seriously and kept all registration records saying the registration
agency had the mandate to register only local vessels.
Efforts to reach his Tanzania Mainland counterpart Dr
Harrison Mwakyembe for comment on the development of the matter didn’t pay off.
Recently, the international news agency, Bloomberg, reported that the oil
tanker company known as NITC owned by the Iranian Pension Fund renamed at least
10 of its vessels and switched to the Tanzanian flag.
Furthermore, efforts to seek comments from the Iranian
embassy spokesperson did not succeed yesterday after our reporters were told
that all top officials at the embassy had gone to the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and International Cooperation. This paper could not immediately
establish if they were summoned over the same issue
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