The United States Department of the Treasury has placed sanctions on two subsidiaries of Chinese state carrier COSCO after it allegedly breached sanctions placed on Iran.
In a statement, the department said the sanctions will specifically be placed on COSCO Shipping Tanker (Dalian) Co. and COSCO Shipping Tanker (Dalian) Seaman & Ship Management Co.
The two companies were deemed by Secretary of State Steven Mnuchin to “meet the criteria for the imposition of sanctions.”
The sanctions come after vessels were seen to carry Iranian crude oil after US exemptions on China, South Korea, Japan, India and Turkey expired in May 2019.
However, the department stressed that the sanctions will not be placed on other COSCO subsidiaries or the parent company itself.