Money laundering is the process of changing large amounts of money obtained from crimes,such as drug trafficking,into origination from a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions with varying definitions. It is a key operation of the underground economy.
The Strait of Hormuz is a strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. It provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean and is one of the world's most strategically important choke points. On the north coast lies Iran,and on the south coast the United Arab Emirates and Musandam,an exclave of Oman. The strait is about 90 nautical miles (167 km) long,with a width varying from about 52 nautical miles (96 km) to 21 nautical miles (39 km).
Iran and the United States have had no formal diplomatic relations since April 1980. Instead Pakistan serves as Iran's protecting power in the United States,while Switzerland serves as the United States' protecting power in Iran. Contacts are carried out through the Iranian Interests Section of the Pakistani Embassy in Washington,D.C.,and the US Interests Section of the Swiss Embassy in Tehran. In August 2018,Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei banned direct talks with the United States.
Economic sanctions are commercial and financial penalties applied by one or more countries against a targeted self-governing state,group,or individual. Economic sanctions are not necessarily imposed because of economic circumstances—they may also be imposed for a variety of political,military,and social issues. Economic sanctions can be used for achieving domestic and international purposes.
A.P. Møller –Mærsk A/S,also known simply as Maersk,is a Danish integrated shipping company,active in ocean and inland freight transportation and associated services,such as supply chain management and port operation. Maersk has been the largest container shipping line and vessel operator in the world since 1996. The company is based in Copenhagen,Denmark,with subsidiaries and offices across 130 countries and around 83,000 employees worldwide in 2020.
In military strategy,a choke point is a geographical feature on land such as a valley,defile or bridge,or maritime passage through a critical waterway such as a strait,which an armed force is forced to pass through in order to reach its objective,sometimes on a substantially narrowed front and therefore greatly decreasing its combat effectiveness by making it harder to bring superior numbers to bear. A choke point can allow a numerically inferior defending force to use the terrain as a force multiplier to thwart or ambush a much larger opponent,as the attacker cannot advance any further without first securing passage through the choke point.
COSCO Shipping Development Co.,Ltd.,stylized as COSCO SHIPPING Development is a financial services company based in Shanghai,China.
Port security is part of a broader definition concerning maritime security. It refers to the defense,law and treaty enforcement,and counterterrorism activities that fall within the port and maritime domain. It includes the protection of the seaports themselves and the protection and inspection of the cargo moving through the ports. Security risks related to ports often focus on either the physical security of the port,or security risks within the maritime supply chain.
The Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line Group,commonly known by its business name IRISL Group,is a shipping line based in and owned by Iran. Its fleet comprises 115 ocean-going vessels with a total capacity of 3.3 million tons deadweight (DWT),with 87 being ocean-going vessels owned by IRISL and the remaining 28 ships being owned under the flags of subsidiary companies,including Khazar Shipping,Valfajr and Iran-India Shipping. They are manned by 6,000 personnel who work under the Iranian flag in the Caspian Sea,Persian Gulf,international waters and various ports of the world.
The United States has since 1979 applied various economic,trade,scientific and military sanctions against Iran. U.S. economic sanctions are administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC),an agency of the US Treasury Department. Currently,US sanctions against Iran include an embargo on dealings with the country by the U.S.,and a ban on selling aircraft and repair parts to Iranian aviation companies.
There have been a number of sanctions against Iran imposed by a number of countries,especially the United States,and international entities. The first sanctions were imposed by the United States in November 1979 after a group of radical students seized the American Embassy in Tehran and took hostages. These sanctions were lifted in January 1981 after the hostages were released.
Horizon Lines,Inc. was an American domestic ocean shipping and logistics company headquartered in Charlotte,North Carolina. It was the largest Jones Act maritime shipping and logistics company and accounted for approximately 37% of all US container shipments linking the continental United States to Alaska,Hawaii and Puerto Rico. Under the Jones Act,maritime shipments between US ports is restricted to US-built,owned,and flagged vessels operated by predominantly US-citizen crews. The company originated from Sea-Land Service,Inc. The domestic liner operations of Sea-Land were sold in 2003 and thereafter operated under the name Horizon Lines. Horizon became a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange in 2005. In 2015 the company was acquired by Matson Navigation Company.
The 2011–12 Strait of Hormuz dispute was a dispute between a coalition of countries and Iran. The dispute arose on 27 December 2011,when Iranian Vice President Mohammad-Reza Rahimi threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz. In late April 2019 Iran said that it will block any shipping if it was barred from using the strategic waterway and in face of US sanctions
China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited,abbreviated as COSCO Shipping,is a Chinese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Shanghai. The group is focused on marine transportation services. COSCO Shipping was established in January 2016 by the merger of COSCO Group and China Shipping Group.
During the crisis in Venezuela,governments of the United States,the European Union,Canada,Mexico,Panama and Switzerland applied individual sanctions against people associated with the administration of Nicolás Maduro. The sanctions were in response to repression during the 2014 Venezuelan protests and the 2017 Venezuelan protests,and activities during the 2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election and the 2018 Venezuelan presidential election. Sanctions were placed on current and former government officials,including members of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ) and the 2017 Constituent National Assembly (ANC),members of the military and security forces,and private individuals accused of being involved in human rights abuses,corruption,degradation in the rule of law and repression of democracy.
On 12 May 2019,four commercial ships were damaged off Fujairah's coast in the Gulf of Oman. The ships included two Saudi Arabian registered oil tankers,a Norwegian registered oil tanker,and an Emirati registered bunkering ship. The ships were anchored on the United Arab Emirates territorial waters for bunkering in Port of Fujairah. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates reported that the ships had been subject to a "sabotage attack". The United Arab Emirates launched a joint investigation probe with United States and France. The initial investigation assessment determined that 5-to-10-foot holes near or below all the ships' waterlines were probably caused by explosive charges.
On 13 June 2019,two oil tankers were attacked near the Strait of Hormuz while they transited the Gulf of Oman. The Kokuka Courageous,flagged in Panama and operated by a company based in Japan,and Front Altair,flagged in Marshall Islands and operated by a company based in Norway,were attacked,allegedly with limpet mines or flying objects,sustaining fire damage. American and Iranian military personnel responded and rescued crew members. The attacks took place a month after the similar May 2019 Gulf of Oman incident and on the same day,Iranian Supreme Leader Iran Ali Khamenei met with Japanese Prime Minister ShinzōAbe in Iran. Abe was acting as an intermediary between US President Donald Trump and Khamenei.
The 2019–2021 Persian Gulf crisis is the ongoing state of heightened military tensions between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America,along with their respective allies in the Persian Gulf region. Starting in early May 2019,the U.S. began a buildup of its military presence in the region to deter an alleged planned campaign by Iran and its non-state allies to attack American forces and interests in the Persian Gulf and Iraq. This followed a rise in political tensions between the two countries during the Trump administration,which included the withdrawal of the U.S. from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA),the imposition of new sanctions against Iran,and the designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization. In response,Iran designated the United States Central Command as a terrorist organization.
The International Maritime Security Construct (IMSC) is a consortium of countries whose official stated aim is the maintenance of order and security in the Persian Gulf,Gulf of Oman,Gulf of Aden and Southern Red Sea,particularly regarding maritime security of global oil supply routes. It was formed on 16 September 2019 in Bahrain,by the United Kingdom,Australia,Albania,Saudi Arabia,Bahrain,Lithuania,the United Arab Emirates,and the United States. The operational arm of the IMSC is Coalition Task Force SENTINEL.
In May 2020,Iran sent five oil tankers—Forest,Fortune,Petunia,Faxon,and Clavel—all under the flag of Iran,to Venezuela,followed by another tanker,Golsan,sent in June 2020. Since the collapse of Venezuela's oil refining industry and 2019 sanctions imposed by the United States preventing fuel suppliers from sending gasoline to Venezuela,the country is experiencing a chronic shortage of gasoline. The Iranian tankers sent in May carried 1.53 million barrels of Iranian gasoline,while Golsan was expected to contain 190,000 to 345,000 barrels. All the tankers were loaded at a gasoline refinery near Bandar Abbas,and were escorted by the Venezuelan navy after U.S. threats of intervention.
