The National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC)’s policy is to have a strong presence in the international oil transport industry as the EU has eased the sanctions on Iran’s oil industry, Ali Akbar Safaei, the managing director of the NITC was quoted by Mehr news agency as saying.
The NITC has been removed from the sanctions list by the European Union (EU) and the UK treasury.
Although certain EU sanctions on the NITC have been lifted, broad sanctions on the oil industry persist.
With a fleet of 37 supertankers, which can typically hold about 2 million barrels of oil, and 14 smaller tankers NITC has an overall carrying capacity of around 86 million barrels of oil and has played a crucial role in keeping Iran’s exports flowing to buyers, especially in Asia. The company operates the largest tanker fleet in the Middle East.
Most of NITC tankers delivered Iran’s oil to the nation’s customers since sanctions intensified. The ships sailed to countries including China, India, South Korea and Taiwan since 2012, when European measures barred most non-Iranian tankers from the trade. Despite the existing sanctions, Safaei stressed, the NITC continues its operations in global markets.
The US and its allies agreed to ease some sanctions for six months starting January 20. The relaxation includes suspending an EU insurance and reinsurance ban that barred most international tanker owners from getting coverage to carry Iranian oil.
