Following Blacklisting of Iran's Major Port Operator, UANI Urges Shipping Companies to End Business in Iran

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 23, 2011
Contact: Nathan Carleton,
[email protected]  
Phone: (212) 554-3296    

 

Following Blacklisting of Iran's Major Port Operator, UANI Urges Shipping Companies to End Business in Iran

 

New York, NY - Today, United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) applauded the U.S. Treasury Department for blacklisting Tidewater Middle East Co. and Iran Air for their ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and their involvement in the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.  UANI repeated its call to companies around the world to stop doing business with Iran.      

 

In a statement, UANI President, Ambassador Mark D. Wallace said:

 

In designating Tidewater and Iran Air weapons proliferators, the U.S. Treasury Department has highlighted Iran's common tactic of exploiting shipping and cargo carriers.  The regime has a long history of falsifying cargo declarations and deceiving other nations in order to illegally import nuclear technology and ship weapons to terrorist groups.

 

These sanctions are more evidence that no responsible company should be doing business with Iran or Iranian government entities.  Cargo companies which continue doing business in Iran with knowledge of the regime's illegal shipping and transportation policies are not 'victims' of false declarations, they are complicit in Iran's strategy.

 

According to Tidewater's website, its major clients include many of the world's leading shipping companies such as: "IRISL, CMA-CGM, Evergreen Marine Corp, Ignazio Messina, K-Line, Maersk Line, Malaysia International Shipping Corporation, Mediterranean Shipping Company, NYK Lines, Pacific International Lines, Regional Container Line (RCL), United Arab Shipping Company, SimaTech, Yang Ming Line, Orient Overseas Container Lines, COSCO, Hanjin, China Shipping Container Line, TS-Line, Emirates United Arab Shipping Company, and WanHai."

 

In July 2010, UANI first highlighted Tidewater's affiliation with the IRGC and called on the Danish shipping company Maersk to end its business in Iran, particularly because of its business ties to Tidewater.  

 

Click here to read UANI's Executive Research Report, "Iran's Exploitation of the Shipping Industry."     

 

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