Mr Miers (MED)
CONFIDENTIAL
[+KG. 122/324/1
شاه
30 MAY 1980
PA
รบ
Action Takon
Jis.6 14f8 873.6
IRAN SANCTIONS: SHIPPING: BP TANKERS
1.
Mr
W
43
The 2775
2271/5
I have now received updated details from BP of the state of play on the joint venture tankers (paragraph 5 of Mr Burton's minute of 20 May). The position is not quite as simple as we had earlier been given to understand.
2. I attach a list, provided by BP, of the present whereabouts and activities of the Iranian flag vessels jointly operated by BP and the Iranians under the terms of their joint venture agreement. It now appears that there are five vessels included in the joint venture agreement which are UK flag ships operated by BP under the terms of the agreement. The whereabouts and current activities of these ships are also set out on the attached table.
3. You will see that none of the five British flag ships are involved in end-to-end trading, although there is a real possibility that the next month or so two of the five ships could conceivably call, or be requested by the Iranians to call, at Iranian ports to load products for shipment (probably to third countries or to other Iranian ports).
4. BP are aware that the activities of some of these ships might be affected by the proposed sanctions against Iran. It is less clear at the moment how far BP will be able to manage the physical disposition of these tankers to avoid the possibility that they may be called on by their Iranian partners to undertake business which might be regarded as falling within the sanctions provisions.
22 May 1980
ce:
(with enc)
Mr Burton MAED
(without enc)
Lord Bridges
Miss Brown
Mrs Denza (Legal Adviser)
HK&GD
NAD
ECD (E)
BJP FALL
Energy, Science and Space Department
CONFIDENTIAL
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