Financial sanctions & cover

Members who can trade lawfully with sanctioned countries need to be aware that financial sanctions may restrict the Club's ability to protect them in the event of a P&I incident. The Club has issued Circular 4/12 this week that reminds Members to review the Rule 5V, which addresses sanctions risks and exposure.

Whilst the Club will continue to issue advisories through this website, Members should take their own measures to establish whether intended voyages are lawful and insurable. Circular 4/12 Sanctions risks reproduces the relevant Rule 5V in full. Other clubs in the International Group have made similar provisions in their Rules.

Owners whose own country's jurisdiction does not impose sanctions on targeted countries may be free to trade legally with them. But if their insurers governed by a country implementing trade sanctions, they may be subject to the accompanying financial sanctions and prevented from extending cover to that trade.

The International Sanctions page selectively compiles advice on different sanction regimes from the International Group, US Treasury, UK Treasury and other relevant sources. There are also links to a number of related organisations on a new International Sanctions section of the Links page.

Keeping track of sanctions can be onerous as they frequently name not just countries, but individuals and organisations as sanctioned trading partners. These lists of potential trading partners are frequently updated. The UK Treasury Asset Freezing Unit provides an option to subscribe to a specialist update email whereby Members can keep track of these changes.

This is a free subscription facility for notification by e-mail when a sanctions-related release is published on their website and the Treasury's consolidated list of targets of financial sanctions in effect in the UK is updated.