…As US Blacklists WT Marine over North Korea Links***
Greek shipowner TOP Ships has agreed to enter into a time charter deal with Singapore-based Clearlake Shipping for one of its product/chemical tankers.
The company informed that the 39,208 dwt, 2015-built Eco Fleet would be employed for a firm period of 36 months plus two additional 12 month periods, at the charterer’s option.
The revenue backlog expected to be generated by this fixture, assuming all options are exercised, is about USD 25 million.
“We are happy to have concluded a new fixture with a high quality charterer which, in line with our strategy, further extends our charter coverage,” Evangelos Pistiolis, the President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of the Company, said.
“Following this fixture, total gross revenue backlog for the fixed charter period of operating vessels, from June 30, 2018, stands at about USD 211 million, increasing to about USD 225 million when adding the 50% of our joint venture vessels.”
Separately, the company informed that it is offering an aggregate of 2 million of its common shares and warrants to purchase up to 3.5 million of common shares. The warrants will have an exercise price of USD 1.50 per share, TOP Ships said, adding that the warrants will be exercisable for four months from the date of issuance.
In the meantime, the U.S. Department of Treasury has designated two Singapore-based companies and one individual for alleged money laundering in support of North Korea.
The companies that are being sanctioned are WT Marine Pte, a marine fuels company, and commodities trading house Wee Tiong Pte. Furthermore, two of WT Marine’s vessels are said to have engaged in illicit activity involving support to the government of North Korea. The two oil product tankers, JW Jewel and Nymex Star, have also been designated by the U.S.
The treasury’s sanctions have targeted Tan Wee Bang, who is director of Wee Tiong and managing director of WT Marine for alleged money laundering.
“Over several years, dating back to at least 2011, Tan Wee Beng and at least one other individual in his company fulfilled millions of dollars in commodities contracts for North Korea. To do so, Tan Wee Beng made a concerted effort to obfuscate payment origins and structure transactions to avoid regulatory scrutiny. (…) In at least one instance, when a wire payment was rejected, Tan Wee Beng and Wee Tiong (S) Pte Ltd orchestrated payment in bulk cash, hand-delivered to a North Korean,” the treasury office said.
The sanctions freeze assets of the two companies and Tan Wee Bang that are located in the U.S. and prohibit Americans from dealing with them.
Based on the initial information, Tan Wee Beng is said to be unaware of the criminal charges and the two companies uninformed of the dealings in question.
“Nobody has contacted me. The FBI has not called me, the Singapore police have not called me,” BBC reported citing Tan.
World Maritime News
