Global oil shipping was thrown into disarray after the US imposed sanctions on several Chinese tanker firms for continuing to carry Iranian crude after sanction waivers lapsed in May. Four shipping companies, including a unit of COSCO Shipping Corp., were charged with knowingly violating restrictions on handling and transacting Iranian petroleum, with additional sanctions placed against executives. The penalties bar Americans from dealing with the firms, effectively blocking them from American banks at the heart of the global financial system. Further uncertainty has been raised among shippers on whether cargoes that have already been loaded onto the vessels of sanctioned firms would be allowed to deliver, or whether they would have to transfer their loads to unsanctioned tankers.
