Hong Kong shipowners are urging 'clarity and specifics' from the US treasury department as it intensifies pressure on the local industry to effectively shut out Iran's national shipping line from the city.
Hong Kong Shipowners Association managing director Arthur Bowring said treasury department officials provided a list of 19 Hong Kong-registered ships they believe could be linked to Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) but more information was needed on that and other concerns.
'Being deliberately vague may help their agenda by spreading fear and getting the Hong Kong shipping industry to err on the side of caution,' Bowring said.
'But it doesn't help us ... it really makes life difficult for shipowners and others in the industry who have got to do business and figure out precisely where the dangers are. Some of these ships may have once been owned by IRISL but that does not mean they are still linked.'
The treasury's new terrorism and financial intelligence undersecretary, David Cohen, travelled to Hong Kong and Beijing this week to urge a more proactive approach to implementing UN sanctions against Iran passed in June last year. The US has also blacklisted 20 local front companies for IRISL links.
Cohen's team met local shipping figures and bankers as well as government officials in both cities.
