US Treasury issues licensing policy on buying sanctioned vessels

The US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control published a Statement of Licensing Policy on Authorizing Persons to Purchase Blocked Vessels on 28 October, listing it among its Russia-related sanctions documents. According to PortNews, the statement is guidance rather than a general licence: buyers must apply for specific licences for transactions that would otherwise be prohibited, and it sits under OFAC's Russia-related and counterterrorism programmes. PortNews says the move formalises a route outlined by Energy Secretary Chris Wright on 19 October, under which investors would buy idle sanctioned tankers, refurbish them and return them to trade without sanctioned oil. The outlet notes that EU and UK restrictions, including those affecting marine insurers, continue to apply separately.

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