India Extends Approval for Iranian Ship Insurance Firms
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – India said it has extended the approval for two Iranian ship underwriters to provide insurance for container, tanker, and bulk vessels docking at Indian ports.
An earlier six-month approval by India for Iran's Kish P&I Club and QITA P&I Club to provide cover to Iranian ships docking at Indian ports will end on 26 December 2014, the Indian IHS website reported.
The report quoted a spokesman for the Indian shipping ministry as saying that the approval is applicable to Kish P&I Club and QITA P&I Club.
The extension beginning 27 December 2014 will help Tehran continue supplying crude to Indian buyers on Iranian tankers with insurance provided by the two P&I Clubs.
India, the world's fourth-biggest oil importer, has struggled to get tankers and insurance for transporting oil from Iran after the United States and the European Union (EU) imposed sanctions on Tehran from July 2012.
The Western sanctions targeting Iran's civilian nuclear program prohibited European companies from providing storage or transport vessels for Iranian oil and petrochemical products, effectively preventing European insurers from covering oil tankers transporting Iranian oil.