OFAC Imposes Sanctions To Disrupt North Korean Maritime Activities

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC") imposed new sanctions targeting the North Korean shipping and trading industry. The OFAC action involves the designation of 27 entities, 28 vessels and one individual. Pursuant to the action, U.S. persons are barred from dealing with any of the designees, and all properties and interests in property of the designees that are in the possession or control of U.S. persons or within the United States must be blocked.

The designees include entities based in North Korea, China, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Marshall Islands, Tanzania, Panama and Comoros. The entities were targeted for activities that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said "will significantly hinder the Kim regime's capacity to conduct evasive maritime activities that facilitate illicit coal and fuel transports, and erode its abilities to ship goods through international waters." The Treasury Secretary warned that companies helping North Korea "will not do business with the United States."

In addition, OFAC published a global shipping advisory outlining practices employed by North Korea to facilitate...