PARAMARIBO, Suriname (CMC) – The United States has again imposed sanctions on a Suriname-based company for its involvement in the Iranian oil trade.

According to the US State Department, Galaxy Management NV is involved in the transport of Iranian petroleum as a registered owner and commercial manager with the ship “Vigor”, which sails under the Panamanian flag.

The ship itself has also been sanctioned as “blocked property in which Galaxy Management NV has an interest”. In addition to the company, sanctions have also been imposed on other individuals and companies in various countries and ships that they manage.

The measure follows earlier sanctions in October against three other companies for the same reason, as Washington maintains a trade boycott against Iran to, among other things, limit Iranian oil exports.
The US sanctions are intended to limit the financial resources of the Iranian regime, which according to the US are used to support terrorism and oppress its own population.

The sanctions mean that all assets and interests of the individuals and companies involved in the US, or owned or controlled by US citizens, are blocked and must be reported to the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). This includes entities and individuals who directly or indirectly own 50 per cent or more of blocked assets.

All transactions by US citizens, or within or through the US, involving assets or interests of designated or blocked persons are prohibited unless licensed by OFAC. This prohibition includes providing or receiving funds, goods, or services to or from a blocked person.

Companies and individuals who cease trading Iranian oil may be removed from the sanctions list upon request if they comply with US law. According to the state department, the purpose of the sanctions is not to punish, but to change behaviour.

In October, sanctions were already imposed on the Surinamese companies Engen Management, Strong Roots Provider and Glazing Future Management, because they acted as commercial managers of oil tankers that transported Iranian oil.

Billions of Euros worth of oil were allegedly shipped through a network of front men. The tankers managed by the Surinamese companies are estimated to have collectively transported 160 million barrels of oil from Iran since the US sanctions were put in place, with an estimated value of more than US$10 billion at current market prices.