U.S. Blacklists 6 Chinese Companies for Dealing with Iran Shipping Network

(UPI) — The Trump administration on Monday blacklisted two Chinese businessmen and six Chinese companies for doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines and in some cases of helping it to evade U.S. sanctions.

In June, the United States sanctioned the IRISL and its Shanghai-based subsidiary the E-Sail Shipping Company for contributing to Tehran’s ballistic missile and military programs through transporting proliferation-sensitive materials.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has called the IRISL “the shipping line of choice” for Iranian procuring agents, accusing the transport network of contributing to the Middle Eastern nation’s proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and saying the sanctions against it were a warning to governments, entities and individuals against doing business with it.

The U.S. State Department named Reach Holding Group and its subsidiary Reach Shipping Lines, Delight Shipping, Gracious Shipping, Noble Shipping and Supreme Shipping as being sanctioned Monday for having knowingly sold, supplied or transferred to Iran “significant goods or services used in connection with the shipping sector of Iran.”

Eric Chen, the chief executive officer of Reach Holding Group, and Daniel Y. He, president of Reach Holding Group, were also sanctioned under the move Monday, the State Department said.

Since the IRISL was blacklisted in June, Reach Holding Group and Reach Shipping lives have arranged port berths for IRISL vessels at Chinese ports, the State Department said, adding that Reach Shipping Lines also knowingly sold, supplied or transferred four large container vessels to HDASCO, an IRISL subsidiary.