EMEA News
U.S. Non-Profit Calls on Wärtsilä To End Iran Ties
United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), a U.S.-based private nonprofit, says Finnish engineering company Wärtsilä is involved in the construction of three ships for the National Iranian Tanker Company ("NITC"), an activity UANI calls "improper."
"UANI calls on Wärtsilä to take responsibility for its business in support of the Iranian regime, and put an immediate end to it," the organisation said.
UANI demanded last month that the company end all business with Iran, which is currently subject to sanctions from the U.S. and European Union (EU) over its nuclear program, saying that Wärtsilä provides technology and marine diesel engines to Chinese shipbuilders that are building oil tankers for Iran and that "Wärtsilä reportedly maintains a presence in Iran through its agents and licensees. "
In response, UANI says, Wärtsilä indicated that it agreed with the organisation's aims and was not engaging in improper activities.
Now, UANI says, it is presenting the company with evidence that it is working with Iran Marine Industrial Company (SADRA) to design and build 12 diesel engines for NITC shuttle tankers.
"As you surely know, SADRA operates as a shipbuilding arm of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and has been sanctioned by the U.S. and EU as an agent of Iran's military," UANI wrote in a letter to Wärtsilä.
The organisation also said Wärtsilä has not responded to allegations in last month's letter that it is involved in building new very large crude carriers (VLCCs) for Iran, and that a company subsidiary, Wärtsilä Italia S.p.A, has apparently built engines for at least two Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) vessels.
Iran launched its first domestically manufactured tanker last summer.
