Please note from the 14th March this blog will transfer to our website
Vessel Arrests
M.V. Coyhaique
Mexico's Navy and Drug Enforcement Agency seized half a ton of contain in one of the containers on board this vessel. The product was shipped from Colombia.
M.V. Jin Tenq - breach of sanctions
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said it was closely watching a North Korean vessel and its 21 crew members on Sunday, March 6, as officials waited for a response from the United Nations days after the ship was seized in compliance with new sanctionsMissing Passengers
M.V. Navigator of the Sea
Coast Guard search-and-rescue crews continued the search for a 46-year-old man who fell from the M.V. Navigator of the Sea off the coast of Key Largo, FloridaM.V Navigator of the Seas
EU Trade Sanctions
US and EU extend sanctions against Russia and Ukraine
The US and EU have extended several of their sanctions regimes against Russia and Ukraine, which they first imposed in 2014 in response to Russia’s involvement in the Ukraine crisis.
The US has extended its targeted
sanctions against senior Russian officials, businessmen, and state-owned
companies for 1 year until 6 March 2017, freezing their assets within
US jurisdiction and prohibiting US persons from doing business with
them. The sanctions also impose a travel ban on listed people. The
White House’s notice on the extension is here.
The EU has decided to extend its asset
freezes and travel bans against around 146 Russian officials and
pro-Russia separatists and around 37 entities, designated for
undermining the territorial integrity or stability of Ukraine. These
sanctions are likely to be extended for 6 months.
It has also decided to extend a separate
regime targeting public corruption in Ukraine, which imposes asset
freezes against 16 people said to have been involved in the
misappropriation of Ukrainian state funds (1 person will be de-listed
having repaid funds that were allegedly misappropriated). The EU is
likely to extend these sanctions for 1 year. All new EU measures are
due to be published in the Official Journal on Saturday 5 March.
It is reported that there was little
debate between EU foreign ministers over the extension of these
sanctions, but much greater disagreement is expected over the extension
of the EU’s sectoral sanctions which target the Russian economy.
Both the US and EU have stated that the
duration of their respective sanctions regimes on Russia is tied to
Russia’s complete implementation of the Minsk peace agreements, which inter alia
require that Russia help Ukraine to regain control over rebel-held
areas. The US has accused Russia of continuing to support the rebels
with money and weapons.