Singapore shipowner Nordic Maritime and founding chairman Morten Innhaug have been heavily fined in the US over seismic survey work carried out in Iran.
The civil penalty of more than $31.4m was recommended by US Coast Guard administrative law judge Dean Metry based on a Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) investigation into the "unlawful use of US-origin subsea survey equipment in Iranian territorial waters", BIS said.
BIS explained that in 2011, Reflect Geophysical obtained a licence from BIS to re-export subsea survey equipment that was controlled on national security and antiterrorism grounds.
The equipment was loaded on to the 81-loa seismic survey ship Orient Explorer (built 1988) owned by Russian state company DMNG.
But in 2012, Reflect lost control of the equipment in Singapore due to DMNG exercising a lien over the gear as a result of a contractual dispute.
Nordic Maritime subsequently gained control of the equipment by chartering the ship from DMNG.
Reflect then sent a cease-and-desist letter to DMNG, Nordic and Innhaug cautioning them that the use of Reflect’s equipment in Iranian waters would violate the terms of the BIS-issued re-export licence.
Warning ignored
BIS said that despite this warning, Nordic went ahead with a 3D offshore seismic survey in the Forouz B natural gas field in Iranian territorial waters.
The company was contracted by Mapna International, owned by Iran Power Plant Management Co.
Nordic did not obtain authorisation from either BIS or the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, BIS added.
The Singapore shipowner has been contacted for comment.
"I am very proud of the special agents in BIS export enforcement who continue their relentless pursuit of national security investigations — no matter where they occur around the world," P Lee Smith, assistant secretary for export enforcement at BIS, said.
Nordic not told?
The bureau said that during the investigation, Nordic provided BIS a written submission falsely stating that Reflect never advised Nordic that the survey equipment was subject to a BIS re-export licence; never communicated any BIS export licence conditions controlling the survey equipment; and never provided a copy of the BIS licence to Nordic.
Judge Metry found that Nordic committed three violations when it illegally re-exported certain equipment to Iran, acting with knowledge when it illegally re-exported the equipment and made false and misleading statements to BIS during the investigation.
Innhaug was found to have aided and abetted Nordic in violating the regulations.
