On May 14, 2020, a sanctions advisory was issued by the US Department of State, US Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, and the US Coast Guard, to warn companies involved in the maritime industry and the energy and metals sectors, about deceptive shipping practices commonly used to evade sanctions, with a focus on Iran, North Korea, and Syria. The advisory report, entitled Guidance to Address Illicit Shipping and Sanctions Evasion Practices, was issued to provide private sector entities with tools to recognize illicit behavior and implement best practices to mitigate sanctions risks, to not only prevent sanctions evasion, but also deter criminal and terrorist activities and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in the maritime industry.
The guidance report serves as an update to the North Korea-related shipping advisory issued by OFAC on February 23, 2018; the Iran-related shipping advisory issued by OFAC on September 4, 2019, and the Syria-related shipping advisories issued on November 20, 2018, and March 25, 2019.