\n<\/p>\n
The Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) has inspected and may have detained a sanctioned Iranian merchant vessel off Misrata. <\/p>\n
The container ship Shahr E Kord<\/em>, which the U.S. Treasury has sanctioned for connections to the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), was detained by GNA forces off the coast of Misrata, Libya last week, according to multiple reports. AIS tracking shows that she was bound for Misrata from the port of Burgas, Bulgaria at the time of intercept. <\/p>\n The U.S Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) blacklisted the Shahr E. Kord <\/em>on November 5, 2018, the day that the Trump administration reimposed sweeping economic sanctions on the government of Iran. U.S. entities are prohibited from doing business with the Iranian shipping sector, and foreign firms that engage with IRISL or the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) face the possibility of losing access to the U.S. financial system and U.S. markets.<\/p>\n