Germanischer Lloyd stops Iran work
Germany's Germanischer Lloyd (GL) has stopped verifying safety and environmental standards for Iran's biggest shipping companies, a letter from the company showed, the last big European classification society to pull back as sanctions heat up, Reuters reports.
Without verification from such bodies, ships are unable to call at international ports. GL's move follows similar decisions by British classification society Lloyd's Register and France's Bureau Veritas to halt operations in Iran.
Western powers continue to put pile pressure on the Islamic Republic over its disputed nuclear programme, putting companies that still trade with Iran in the firing line.
In a letter sent to U.S. pressure group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) on June 15 and seen by Reuters, GL said it had stopped offering services to the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) and the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC).
"It is of the utmost importance that we maintain our good reputation," GL said in the letter. "Therefore, we have pursued the decision to cease rendering services to the Iranian companies mentioned."
A GL spokeswoman said on Monday it was not making a statement on the issue.
UANI, which includes former U.S. ambassadors on its board and is funded by private donations, had said GL's cover for IRISL was in violation of EU sanctions. UANI, which seeks to prevent Iran getting nuclear weapons, had also pressured Bureau Veritas before the French firm stopped its Iran cover.
"Your allegations have already caused severe damage to our reputation as a credible and trustworthy organisation and could cause even further damage," GL said in the letter.
IRISL has been on a Western blacklist of sanctioned entities for a number of years, while NITC faces the prospect of potential sanctions after the U.S. senate passed a bill last month that aims to target Iran's biggest tanker operator.
