US Sanctions Against Oil-Cargo Inspector Jolt Singapore Traders

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(Bloomberg) — Washington’s sanctioning of a Singapore-based oil-services company has sent ripples through the local trading community, while renewing a focus on the clandestine supply chain that moves Iranian oil to China.

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CCIC Singapore Pte — which provides quality inspections and verifies cargo origins — was blacklisted by the Treasury Department this week for allegedly inspecting Iranian oil shipments set for China, and concealing their true origin.

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The US move comes as Washington has stepped up the pressure against Iran’s energy industry, while also pursuing talks with Tehran over the nation’s nuclear program. President Donald Trump threatened this week that he would drive Iran’s oil exports to “zero” if they didn’t come to an agreement.

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In support of that strategy, the Treasury has imposed several waves of sanctions to disrupt the flow of crude from the OPEC member to its principal market in China, where most cargoes are taken by small-scale private refiners. To that end, ships, processors and trading companies have been targeted.

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CCIC Singapore is a unit of Chinese state-owned enterprise China Certification and Inspection Group. Emails and calls to CCIC’s China and Singapore units went unanswered. Its website in the city-state has stopped functioning. A person who answered the door at the office in Singapore declined to comment.

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Cargo inspectors form a crucial but low-profile cog in the trading world, providing third-party measurements of the quality, quantity and other specifications of shipments as they are bought and sold. They provide certificates as marks that materials meet required characteristics.

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CCIC Singapore was widely-used by trading companies, as well as energy majors, operating in and around Singapore and Malaysia, according to traders, who asked not to be identified discussing sensitive matters. Since the sanctioning, users have rushed to find alternatives, they said.

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Among the allegations, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said CCIC Singapore had “likely” provided falsified documents concealing a vessel’s identity, as well as certifying its Iranian oil cargo was Malaysian heavy crude.

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The waters around Singapore and Malaysia are a hot spot for so-called dark-fleet activity, including ship-to-ship transfers. This well-used tactic is designed to mask the tracking of a vessel’s history and usage.

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CCIC Singapore provided inspection services during a ship-to-ship transfer of about 2 million barrels of Iranian oil late last year, according to the Office of Foreign Assets Control. The oil was moved from a sanctioned vessel, Siri, that is affiliated with Sepehr Energy, which was also hit with curbs.

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—With assistance from Nicholas Lua.

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