Page 123 - ΝΑΥΤΙΚΑ ΧΡΟΝΙΚΑ - ΜΑΙΟΣ 2024

ancillary costs of shipping the cargo, e.g. in October 2023, the US Office of Financial
freight, insurance costs, export licences, Control (OFAC) issued General Licence 44 (GL
port dues, fees for customs clearance 44), which permitted transactions relating to
etc. There is no definitive list of what the Venezuelan oil and gas sectors until 18 April
ancillary costs are, and they will differ 2024. This relaxation of sanctions has proved to
depending on whether the cargo has be short-lived as OFAC has subsequently issued
been sold on a CIF or FOB basis. To GL 44A, which requires any transactions that
ensure they can satisfy this new require- were previously permitted under GL 44 to be
ment, shipowners should include terms wound down by 31 May 2024.
in charterparties and contracts of car- The US will, no doubt continue to assess its
riage requiring their counterparties sanctions policy against Venezuela depending
to provide itemised price information on local political developments, with Venezuelan
within a period that enables them to elections scheduled for late July 2024. In the
meet the 30 days’ deadline. meantime, shipowners have been advised by
To reflect the tightening of the OPC regula- IG P&I Clubs to conclude all voyages involving
tions, BIMCO has recently published a revised the carriage of Venezuelan oil cargoes by the 31
version of its Russian Oil Price Cap Scheme May 2024 wind down date.
Clause. Shipowners should be aware, however,
that the clause is only applicable to the trans- Iran
portation of oil or oil product cargoes and not Iran has been subject to a variety of sanctions The US will, no
bunkers. for many years. While EU and UK sanctions have doubt continue to
The price cap regulations are intended to allow been more limited in recent years, US sanctions assess its sanctions
traders, shipowners, charterers and service pro- remain very extensive, including prohibiting the policy against
viders to engage lawfully in the sale, purchase carriage of any Iranian oil or oil products. The US Venezuela depending
and carriage of Russian oil and oil products by sanctions do not only apply to US entities but on local political
sea. However, in reality, they have imposed a have extra-territorial effect. As a consequence, developments, with
heavy burden on the shipping sector and insur- ships entered with IG P&I Clubs avoid carrying Venezuelan elections
ers, as they are challenging to implement, con- Iranian oil and oil products and such trade is only scheduled for late
trol and enforce. The OPC regulations have also undertaken by ships operating outside the IG. July 2024. In the
led to an exodus of about 800 tankers from the Following Iran’s attack on Israel in April 2024, meantime, shipowners
twelve International Group P&I Clubs into other several Iranian individuals and entities have have been advised
P&I insurers who are unable to match the level been sanctioned by both the US and UK. There by IG P&I Clubs
of cover and reliability that IG Clubs can provide have also been discussions within the US and to conclude all
(the so-called ‘parallel fleet’). Furthermore, the EU about whether further sanctions should be voyages involving
regulations have driven the export of Russian imposed on Iran. This suggests that there could the carriage of
oil cargoes away from Europe and into China, be a further tightening of Iranian sanctions in the Venezuelan oil
India and Turkey in particular. To reflect this, foreseeable future. cargoes by the 31 May
it is notable that in the last few weeks the US 2024 wind down date.
has imposed sanctions on several companies in As the above summary indicates, sanctions
China and Hong Kong for their alleged support remain a fast developing area, with the poten-
of the Russian conflict with Ukraine. tial to affect large parts of the shipping sector.
It remains to be seen how sanctions against It also seems certain that governments and
Russia will be further developed. However, given international organisations will continue to use
that in early May the EU discussed the intro- sanctions widely as a means of economic war-
duction of sanctions against Russia’s Liquefied fare. Due to the potential negative impact of
Natural Gas (LNG) industry, which to date has breaching sanctions, shipowners are always
been largely unaffected, it seems that unless advised to conduct thorough due diligence
Russia withdraws or scales back its invasion, yet checks on the entire trade chain before they
more sanctions are likely to be imposed. engage in any trade which has a potential sanc-
tions risk.
Venezuela
For several years, to put pressure on the Ven- The above summary update on sanctions
ezuelan government, the US has prohibited is for general guidance only and is not to be
the carriage of exported or imported products construed as a legal advice. For more detailed
relating to the Venezuelan oil and gas sectors, information and/or analysis of any current sanc-
including trade with the Venezuelan state oil tions issue, please contact your P&I Club and/
company (PdVSA) and its affiliates. However, or lawyer.

119