The Last Big Ship Classifier Cuts Off Iran As Sanctions Intensify
Germanischer Lloyd (GL), a German-based ship classification society, has announced their decision to stop all marine work for Iranian shipping companies. This will mainly include verifying the safety and environmental standards of the country’s vessels and shipping firms. As sanctions intensify, GL is one of the last major European classifier to pull out of Iran.
Lloyd’s Register and Bureau Veritas, two other European classification societies, have both recently terminated all of their Iranian operations as well. Without proper verification, Iran’s ships will be unable to call at international ports.
Pressures on Iran as a result of their nuclear program, in turn, put their trading companies in the line of fire. Although GL has stated they will not make any statements regarding this matter, they sent an official letter to United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI). It confirmed that Germanischer Lloyd will no longer be offering services to the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) and the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC).
UANI had claimed that GL's coverage for IRISL was in violation of EU sanctions. UANI, which seeks to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons, had also pressured Bureau Veritas before the French firm decided to stop its Iran cover.
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It is likely that Iran is already securing cover from Asia-based classification societies, according to a Reuters report.