Hyundai Merchant Marine

"South Korean carrier Hyundai Merchant Marine is preparing to halt activities in Iran after President Trump announced that the United States was pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal." (5/25/2018) (https://fairplay.ihs.com/commerce/article/4301971/hmm-prepares-to-wind-down-iran-business)

After a ten year hiatus, Hyundai Merchant Marine resumed shipping to Iran through the port of Bandar Abbas (Business Monitor - "Hyundai MM Enticed Back to Iran After 10 Years", 5/25). Hyundai Merchant Marine's website gives addresses and contact listings for offices in Tehran and Bandar Abbas (Company Website). (http://www.allbusiness.com/transportation/freight-package-postal-shipping/14514471-1.html) (http://www.hmm21.com/cms/company/eng/introduce/overview/index.html)

Hyundai Merchant Marine is a container shipping company, part of the conglomerate Hyundai Group. It is an "integrated logistics company, operating around 160 state of the art vessels" (Company Website). (http://www.hyundaigroup.com/eng/) (http://www.hmm21.com/cms/company/eng/introduce/overview/index.html)

"HMM said it will be ceasing to provide access to services to and from Iran on designated cargoes from June 9 in the wake of US pulling out of the deal, reflecting its fear of U.S. secondary boycott measures, which call for penalties for third-party companies and individuals in trade with a target country. HMM said it detailed timelines for its last bookings for specific cargoes in a note to clients sent on Monday, considering 90-day and 180-day grace periods for cargo shipping to and from Iran by industry and item. Shipping of items under the 90-day grace period, originating from Busan, will be halted from June 9 and such items include raw materials such as graphite, aluminum and steel, as well as semi-finished metals, gold and precious metals, coal, industrial process integration software, materials or products related to Iran`s automotive sector." (Pulse, 5/25/2018) (https://pulsenews.co.kr/view.php?year=2018&no=331991)

"Deputy Head of Trade Development Organization of South Korea Kiman Nam and Managing Director of Iran's Ports and Maritime Organization Mohammad Saeednejad, in a meeting in Tehran on Sunday, discussed ways for increased presence of South Korean vessels in Iranian waters. Managing Directors of South Korean Hyundai, Pan Ocean and Hanjin shipping lines who took part in the meeting highlighted boosting the mutual cooperation on ports, sea and shipping lines. The Iranian official, on his part, said the country is ready to work with South Korean companies, and added Iran is ready for a shipping line agreement with the country. The South Korean official, for his part, said his country is ready for bolstering naval and port cooperation with Iran. Late in January, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani and his South Korean counterpart Kang Chang-hee, in a meeting in Tehran, voiced their capitals' willingness to open new avenues for expansion of their bilateral relations in all spheres. The volume of non-oil trade transactions between Iran and South Korea stood at $6.2 billion in 2012.” (Fars, “Iran, South Korea to Enhance Maritime Cooperation,” 3/10/14) (http://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/company/hanjin-shipping) (http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13921219001138)

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"Earlier this month, two South Korean shipping companies said they had suspended importing Iranian crude due to a separate EU embargo set to come into force from July . . . Hyundai Merchant Marine said it had not carried any Iranian crude for Hyundai Oilbank in June. SK Energy and Hyundai Oilbank are the only Korean refiners still importing Iranian oil. They said the suspension was temporary as Seoul seeks an exemption from the EU measures." (France 24, "S.Korea reports sharp fall in Iran oil imports," 6/25/12) (http://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/company/sk-energy) (http://www.france24.com/en/20120625-skorea-reports-sharp-fall-iran-oil-imports)

"South Korea's government said the country's top two shippers, Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd and Hyundai Merchant Marine Co Ltd, had ended direct shipments to Iran in May, with the Middle Eastern nation's economy already reeling from measures imposed by the West to curb its nuclear programme. Hyundai Merchant will also cease so-called trans-shipments of freight ultimately destined for or originating in Iran from June 15, while Hanjin halted such business on June 8, the marine, energy, finance and foreign affairs ministries said in a joint statement on Tuesday. Hanjin and Hyundai Marine, the only two South Korean shippers that had been dealing with Iran, both confirmed the government statement, saying they were cooperating in efforts against Iran's nuclear programme." (Reuters, "S.Korea shippers join overseas rivals in shunning Iran business," 6/11/2013)  (http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/11/iran-korea-shipping-idUSL3N0EN0L820130611)

"Ahead of the nuclear agreement, carriers had already begun calling at Iran’s biggest container terminal at Shahid Rajaei, about 23km west of Bandar Abbas, equipped with 18 ship-to-shore gantry cranes, said Alphaliner. Hyundai added the port to its Korea-East Asia-Middle East Express (KMS) service, operated with seven 6,300-6,800 teu ships in April." (Loadstar, "Carriers Swift to Join Global Players Eyeing the Trade Potential in a Sanction-free Iran," 7/30/15) (http://theloadstar.co.uk/carriers-swift-to-join-global-players-eyeing-the-trade-potential-in-a-sanction-free-iran/)

"Hapag-Lloyd's previous Bandar Abbas service had been jointly operated with South Korea's Hyundai Merchant Marine. A source familiar with the matter said Hyundai had reduced its shipping service to Iran and was closely monitoring the situation. 'Hyundai's vessels, however, en route via Bandar Abbas do not contain any refinery or nuclear-related products since those items are blacklisted,' the source said." (Reuters, "Sanctions blowback crippling Iran's shipping trade," 12/1/2011) (http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFL5E7MT2BY20111201?sp=true)

In the past, Iran has used foreign-operated vessels to ship weapons caches (Business Monitor - "Hyundai MM Enticed Back to Iran After 10 Years, 5/25).  (http://www.allbusiness.com/transportation/freight-package-postal-shipping/14514471-1.html)