The U.K. added two entries to its Yemen sanctions list, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation said in a Sept. 28 notice. The entries are Motlaq Amer Al Marrani, former deputy head of the Houthi National Security Bureau, and Mansur Ahmad Al-Sa'adi, Houthi Naval Forces chief of staff. The U.N. Security Council had added the two to its sanctions list two days earlier (see 2209280012).
Labor negotiations at two key U.K. ports, Liverpool and Felixstowe, have stalled, deepening concerns over the global supply recovery following COVID-19 pandemic-era disruptions, Bloomberg reported. Data compiled by the news service reveals small backups forming at nearby ports in southern England during the strikes, with three box carriers parked outside Felixstowe and four more waiting outside London Gateway and another near Southampton. The owner of Liverpool's container terminals, Peel Ports Group, issued a statement Sept. 28 accusing the dockworkers of undermining the local economy. Hapag-Lloyd said all lines calling at Felixstowe are trying to divert their vessels to other U.K. ports during the strike, and Maersk reworked its schedule for its ships heading to the U.K. over the next couple of weeks to ease oncoming bottlenecks.
The EU is weighing the prospect of adding shipping restrictions to its oil sanctions, people familiar with the matter said, Bloomberg reported. The move comes amid discussions over the imposition of a price cap on Russian oil. The prospective shipping ban would bar EU ships from shipping Russian oil sold above a set threshold, Bloomberg reported Sept. 28. The move would most affect Greece. the the world's largest oil tanker-owning country, Bloomberg said.
The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation assessed Hong Kong International Wine and Spirits Competition Ltd. a fine of more than $32,000 for violating sanctions pertaining to Ukraine, OFSI said in a Sept. 27 report. The penalty pertains to the company's receipt of three payments and 78 wine bottles from a designated entity which were entered into competitions from 2017 to 2020, the total value of which is estimated to be around $4,200. HKIWSC did not make any prior disclosures in the case over these payments and wine, leading to OFSI applying the full penalty amount. The sanctions agency said that it is confident that the company "either knew or had reasonable cause to suspect that it was in breach of those prohibitions."
The U.K. added 92 entries to its Russia sanctions regime, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation said in a Sept. 26 notice. OFSI also amended three listings under the restrictions regime and corrected one more. The additions consist of 89 individuals and three entities, which are Goznak, Russia's passport producer; Ima Consulting; and LLC Commercial Bank - International Settlements Bank. The listed individuals include businesspeople, politicians and bankers. Many employees of Sberbank and Gazprombank were listed, along with individuals appointed to positions in occupied areas of Ukraine.
Turkey recently imposed an export ban on milk powder, the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service said, the latest in a series of measures this year to restrict agricultural products leaving the market in order to stabilize domestic prices amid inflation. The export ban applies to milk powders both with fat and skimmed milk, the agency said, and runs from mid-September through the end of the year. The country previously banned and then lifted export restrictions on butter and olive oil (see 2207210009).
The U.K. amended one entry under its Libya sanctions regime, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation said in a Sept. 26 notice. The entry for Yevgeniy Viktorovich Prigozhin, Russian funder and former director of the Internet Research Agency and supporter of the Wagner Group, was updated with a change in the spelling of Prigozhin's first name in Russian.
Dockworkers at the U.K.’s Port of Liverpool on Sept. 19 began a strike expected to continue through Oct. 3 (see 2209130016), their union said this week. Workers began striking after the port failed “to honour the 2021 pay agreement” and conduct a “promised pay review,” the union said. Port workers “are being asked to accept attacks on their living standards while the company gets richer and richer -- Unite will not tolerate that,” said Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite the Union.
The European Commission updated its Russia sanctions FAQs, releasing a page on the "Import, Purchase & Transfer of Listed Goods." The updated guidance says certain listed goods, including fertilizers, animal feed and various hydrocarbons, can be shipped to third countries. The move is intended to lessen strains on food and energy security given the sanctions on Russia.
The U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation added three questions to its Russia sanctions guidance page. The first asks whether insurers are allowed to insure Russian ships carrying food and fertilizer from Russia and Ukraine to a third country. OFSI said insurers can apply for a license under the food security purpose with OFSI, which allows anything to be done in connection with the distribution of food for the benefit of a country's civilian population. Applying for this license doesn't prevent applicants from also applying under a different purpose in the regulations.