S Korea to halt Iran oil imports amid sanctions

DHAKA: South Korea has said imports of Iranian oil will be suspended from 1 July amid a European Union insurance ban on vessels carrying the product.

The insurance ban is part of a series of measures taken by the EU and the US to hurt Iran’s oil exports, reports BBC.

Oil is a major source of revenue for Tehran and the EU and US have been trying to use it as a tool to persuade Iran to give up its nuclear programme.

South Korea is the first major Asian economy to halt oil imports from Iran.

‘The EU will ban providing insurance related to Iranian oil imports, because of which we cannot get the insurance provided by the European insurance companies’, a spokesperson for South Korea’s Ministry of Knowledge Economy confirmed to the BBC.

He added that as a result South Korea was not in a position to continue importing oil from Tehran.

Shipping vessels buy insurance covers to safeguard against accidents and various issues raging from personal injury to environmental claims.

However, the bulk of companies that sell insurance on shipping vessels are based in the EU.

BDST: 1653 HRS, JUN 26, 2012

Edited by Robab Rosan, Cultural Affairs Editor