Iran proposes amendments to a draft resolution on dark shipping at the upcoming meeting of the International Maritime Organization (IMO)
Iran has proposed amendments to a draft resolution on dark shipping that is due to be discussed at the upcoming meeting of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Assembly. The proposed amendments would strip out all mention of illicit operations, dark fleets, and maritime fraud, and would instead only refer to “substandard ship-to-ship transfers.”
Iran relies on a so-called “dark fleet” of tankers that operate outside of mainstream tanker markets because of US sanctions. United Against Nuclear Iran, a campaign group that tracks Iranian shipping, says that it has identified more than 350 tankers involved in the trade of Iranian crude and oil products.
Iran has said that it supports controls on ship-to-ship transfers, but that it objects to the use of terms such as “dark shipping,” “illicit maritime trafficking,” and “fraud” in the proposed IMO resolution. It says that the resolution strays from the “technical” remit of the IMO.
The proposed amendments are likely to be controversial. The United States and other Western countries have called for tougher action against dark shipping, while Iran and other countries have argued that the proposed resolution goes too far. The outcome of the vote on the resolution is uncertain.
Here are some of the key points of the proposed amendments:
The amendments would remove all references to illicit operations, dark fleets, and maritime fraud.
The amendments would only refer to “substandard ship-to-ship transfers.”
The amendments would call for states to take measures to prevent substandard ship-to-ship transfers, but would not specify what these measures should be.
It is unclear whether the proposed amendments will be accepted by the IMO Assembly. The outcome of the vote is likely to be close.
Source: Opinion.org