Action Alert: Protest against MAN's Iran business!

Send a letter of protest to the management board and supervisory board of MAN. You can use a form on our webpage: http://de.stopthebomb.net/de/petition-unterschreiben/action-alert-man.html (in German). If you want to send a protest letter in English, please use the form on UANI's webpage. 

„MAN’s Iran-business not acceptable“

STOP THE BOMB Press Release, January 16, 2013

The Campaign STOP THE BOMB supports the protests of the American organisation UANI (United Against Nuclear Iran) against the German company MAN. Within the framework of its shipping campaign UANI protests against MAN’s business with sanctioned Iranian shipping companies and against the involvement in the construction of new vessels for the Iranian regime. These activities undermine U.S., EU, and UN sanctions against the Iranian regime.

The Campaign STOP THE BOMB strongly protests against the Iran-business of MAN. STOP THE BOMB spokesperson Michael Spaney comments: „The new sanctions of the EU prohibit the participation in the construction of new oil tankers for Iran. We call upon MAN to immediately stop its activities for the Iranian regime, including those that are operated via third countries like China. This includes maintenance and refitting of engines for Iranian tankers. We call upon the German government, to implement an effective monitoring system on the national and the EU level, which can effectively prevent these kind of activities.“ [1]

The Iranian regime’s seaborne export capacity is an Achilles heel of the Iranian regime. International sanctions, restrictions on the provision of technical expertise and tanker replacement parts to Iran, and the age of the Iranian vessels limit the Iranian capacity to carry out its oil business. To modernize its tanker fleet the Iranian regime is dependant on the cooperation with companies like MAN, because few companies internationally can construct engines for very large crude carriers and provide maintenance.

Michael Spaney: „The Iranian shipping industry is directly controlled by the regime. In assisting the Iranian regime to overcome its problems in transportation, MAN supports the Iranian regime in developing its most lucrative economic sector. The regime uses revenues to finance its illegal nuclear weapons program and to support the Syrian regime that is brutally repressing its own people.“

In an open letter to MAN’s board UANI specifies the activities of MAN with the Iranian regime. You can find the letter here. Here are some selected activities:

• Reportedly, a number of Iranian oil tankers are fitted with MAN Diesel & Turbo SE engines. Among them are the Iranian tankers “Camellia” and “Majestic” and the Iranian tanker “Justice”. These tankers are reportedly fitted with MAN B&W 6S70MC6 21 and 6S90MC-C22 engines, respectively with a MAN Diesel engine, model 6S90MC-C19.

• MAN is reportedly involved in the construction of 12 new Very Large Crude Carriers for the NITC (National Iranian Tanker Company). NITC is on the EU sanctions list since October 2012. The vessels are being built in shipyards owned by the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation. Specifically, MAN Diesel & Turbo appears to be supplying Chinese companies with parts and technology to build low and medium-speed marine diesel engines, which are necessary to power the very large vessels.

• MAN reportedly is directly cooperating with IRISL on the construction of at least five new vessels for the Iranian regime. IRISL is also on the sanctions list of the EU. MAN’s Iranian partner in the construction of these vessels is the Persian Gulf Shipbuilding Corporation (PGSC). PGSC is controlled by the Iranian regime. The PGSC is currently constructing two chemical tankers and three container ships for the NITC, IRISL and Hafiz Darya Shipping Co., an IRISL front company. All are fitted with MAN engines.

•  MAN Diesel & Turbo also appears to have partnered with the Iran Heavy Diesel Engine Manufacturing Company (“DESA”), a regime-controlled corporation that provides services to sanctioned entities as the Iran Marine Industrial Company and the National Iranian Drilling Company. DESA is a subsidiary of the Industrial Development and Renovation Organization of Iran, an arm of the Iranian regime controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and blacklisted by the U.S. and EU for its activities in a wide range of nuclear and military industries. In light of their connections to IDRO, MAN’s apparent partnerships with DESA are clearly unacceptable.

[1] Compare Council Decision 2012/635/GASP of 15 October 2012 amending Decision 2010/413/CFSP concerning restrictive measures against Iran, eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do